Lost At High School
by Trillian Astra
Summary: Life on a desert island can be tough, but so can life at high school. Follow everyone's favourite Losties as they go through school, form new relationships and lose old ones, and generally support each other. I don't own this, I just love Lost.NEW UPDATE
1. InClass Musings

Kate

Ugh. I _hate _maths. I mean, I could be doing other stuff, instead of sitting here bored out of my skull listening to Mr. Locke drone on and on about stupid trigonometry. I look around the class for a bit, seeing who's paying attention and who isn't. It's easy enough to tell when you sit in the back like me. Jack, of course, is sat right up front listening to every word, but then he's going to med school after he graduates, so he needs good grades. James is here at the the desk next to mine. I glance over at him and I can just tell he's as bored as I am. Though with him, it's more because he finished the work in about ten minutes than because he can't do trig, like me. He tried to tutor me, but declared me hopeless and gave up. Ana and Boone are sitting in the middle of the room, half-listening to the teacher. And the new guy, the exchange student, he's sitting up at the front, but new kids always do that for the first few weeks. I think his name's Desmond, or something like that. He's pretty cute though, and he has this great scottish accent. For me, though, he'll always be second. The guy who comes first? He's sitting right next to me. James Ford. My best friend in the world. Practically my soulmate. My dream guy. All those and more, and he doesn't have a clue. I thought about telling him once, but I can't, you know. Because the one guy in the whole world who really understands me is going out with Ana.

Typical.

Ana-Lucia

I am so _bored_. We did this stuff in junior year, and some of us really don't need to repeat the stupid topic. I hate the fact that they wouldn't let us choose where to sit, because if I had I'd be sitting with James now, instead of Kate. It's obvious she fancies him. I mean, just because they've been friends for so long doesn't mean she gets to keep him all to herself.

Actually, I'm pretty sure Jack likes Kate, maybe I should set them up together. Okay, so Jack's a little bit of a nerd, but he's not that bad. And maybe he could teach her how to do trig properly. Seriously, that girl really does suck at maths. James tried to tutor her – it was the funniest thing ever, she's so hopeless. It's weird, cos most other things she's really good at. She's good at most math as well, she just seems to have this huge mental block about trig.

James

Bored.

Really, really bored.

I don't know why I bother with these classes. I always finish the exercises first. Katie's lost, as usual. I tried teaching her this ages ago, but she just can't get her head around advanced trig, so I gave up and let the teachers try.

As usual, nothing to do 'til class ends, so I'm just sat here slouching in my chair, admiring Ana from behind. She sneaks a glance over her shoulder at me, and we smile at each other for a second. I still can't believe I got her, you know. Ana-Lucia Cortez is, like, the hottest girl in senior year – probably in the whole school. She could have had anyone, and she picked me.

Confession time. I like watching Ana in class, but even though I shouldn't, sometimes I watch Katie out of the corner of my eye. I should stick with Ana. I should feel grateful that she's my girlfriend. But sometimes I just can't take my eyes off Katie. I've known her my whole life, she's my best friend, but recently she just seems like the most beautiful girl in the world and only I can see it.

How am I going to get out of this?


	2. School's Out

Lost Characters at High School, Part Two: the next instalment.

the bell rings: school's done for the day.

Jack

As the bell goes, I start putting my books away. As I stand up to go, I see Kate dumping her stuff in her bag, and swinging the bag up onto her shoulder. With her hair all loose around her face she looked beautiful. But she'll never be interested in me. I'm just the geeky guy at the front of every class who's quiet and doesn't have a lot of friends. And she's the rebellious, clever girl who sits at the back and skips classes she doesn't want to go to and hangs out with the cool people.

I'll never get Kate.

There is someone else, though. Weirdly, one of the people I really get on well with is Ana. I know – the geek and the hot latino girl that every guy wants to be with. Sounds incredible doesn't it? But she's off limits as well, because _she_ is dating James Ford, the guy that every other guy wants to _be_. I could try asking Ana out, but I don't want to get beaten up.

I'll just have to stick to watching Kate from afar.

the teens head to the schoolyard

Ana-Lucia

Finally, no more school 'til next week. We're outside in the playground – me, James, Kate, Jack, Boone – waiting for the juniors to get out of class. As we're waiting, that new guy walks past, and James calls him over.

"Hey! Come over here!"

The new guy hurried over "Yes?"

"You're that new exchange student, aren't you? What's your name again?"

"Desmond. Yeah, I'm on exchange."

"Yeah, that's it. Look, are you doing anything now?"

"No, I don't have any plans."

"Great. D'you want to come with us? We're just gonna hang out at the mall or somewhere."

"Er, OK, I'll come with you."

Just then, a load of juniors came pouring out of the school. Boone's sister (well, stepsister really, but so what?) Shannon got to us first, with her friend Libby, and it wasn't long before Charlie and Hurley turned up. Now that everyone was out, we headed for the mall in one big group. I walked kind of near the front, listening to the others chatting about their day, and about their weekend plans. James was talking to Desmond, the new guy, about the exchange program. He'd already given the poor guy a nickname – only 'Des', but still. James loves giving people nicknames. It doesn't matter if you're his friend or his enemy, he'll think of something. I'm always Chica, Kate is Freckles, Shannon is Sticks cos she's so thin. Jack, well, James doesn't seem to like Jack that much, but Kate does, so he puts up with him. So far, he's been Jacko, Jackass, Cowboy and Doc (cos he's going to be a doctor).

Anyway, I was walking along, basically minding my own business, when I happened to glance back and see Hurley apparently deep in conversation with Libby, Shannon's friend. I don't know Libby that well, but she hangs out with Shannon so you can guess. Actually that's not fair, she seems like a really sweet girl, who got pulled into Shannon's circle pretty much by accident. But the way they were walking side by side and talking quietly to each other, it certainly seemed like there was something beyond friendship going on.

I mean, Hurley? He's a nice guy, but he's just not who I thought Libby would go for. Anyway, I _knew_ there was something happening after a while, because they started holding hands.

Shannon

When we got to the mall, we headed for the foodcourt and pushed a few tables together so we could all sit together. Then we ditched the schoolbags and went to check out the stunning selection of food. The guys headed straight for the burger stand, so us girls went to check out the salad bar. Kate and Ana decided on pizza and Libby picked out a salad bowl, but I just got a diet soda, seeing as I'm trying to lose some weight for the Formal. We joined the guys back at the table. When I sat down with my drink, I noticed Boone moving his chair a bit closer to mine. I don't think he realised that I'd seen him though. I like Boone, he's a cool stepbrother, but he's been acting really weird recently. Ever since my sixteenth birthday party, I keep getting the feeling that he's staring at me, it's creepy. I ignored him, though, and shifted my chair closer to Charlie, who as usual had his precious guitar and was strumming absently while he listened to the others talking.


	3. Boone and Shannon

_Part Three, everyone! This one is basically early Boone/Shannon – and it seems they weren't always close. Mostly Boone being creepy and Shannon being freaked out, only told from Charlie's POV. Read and enjoy – remember, reviews make me a happy happy person!_

Boone

She's entrancing. She's beautiful, lovely, wonderful, incredible.

I shouldn't feel like this. Shannon is my stepsister. She's off-limits. But I can't get her out of my mind. Ever since her sixteenth birthday party, that day when she came out to the pool in her new bikini, I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. I've tried to have other girlfriends, but every time I kiss another girl, I always find myself imagining that it's her I'm kissing.

She knows, I'm sure she does. She looks at me sometimes, with this look on her face that tells me she's disgusted by me. She doesn't feel the same way, I know that. But I can't forget her. Living in the same house makes it tough, but I should be able to resist. I know I shouldn't feel this way about her, and I do try not to, but I just can't do it.

We're all sitting around a table in the mall foodcourt, James and Ana next to each with his arm around her, Libby and Hurley off to themselves and deep in conversation, Jack trying to explain a math problem to Kate, Charlie strumming his ever-present guitar. Shannon is sitting next to Charlie, listening to Kate wear out Jack's patience. Shannon glances over at me – she knows I've been staring at her again. She sighs, pushes her chair back and walks over to me. She grabs my arm, drags me away from the table. When we stop, she hisses at me. "What are you doing, Boone? I told you not to stare at me like that, you know how uncomfortable it makes me."

I struggled to answer her. "Shannon…"

"Just shut up, Boone! It's really weird, you staring at me and following me all the time. People are starting to notice. And other people are not going to be as understanding as me."

"I'm sorry…"

"No you're not! If you were really sorry, you would stop doing it."

"Please…" I reached out to her, touching her arm.

"Get off me! Just, go away, Boone. Go home, go anywhere, I don't care. Just get away from me." and she tore herself away from me and ran off towards the restrooms.

I watched her go, then I went back to the table in a daze. Charlie looked up at me, saying "Are you alright, mate?"

I realised I was being spoken to, and said "oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"What happened to Shannon?"

"She's a bit upset, that's all. She's in the restrooms. Look, Charlie, I'm gonna go home now. I'll see you at school on Monday, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you mate."

I grabbed my bag and my coat and walked out of the foodcourt, blinking back the tears.

Charlie

I watched Boone storm out. He's a weird guy, that one. He keeps staring at Shannon, like he fancies her, which is just sick. I mean, she's his sister. He said she'd gone to the restroom, so when he'd left I went over to Libby, Shannon's best friend.

"Libby? I think Shannon's upset. D'you want to go and check on her?"

"Oh, sure. it wasn't anything to do with Boone, was it?"

"Well, I didn't hear it all, but I think so, yeah."

"Oh, crap. Come on, let's go."

We headed off to the restrooms, me, Libby and Hurley. Libby went in to find Shannon, and eventually brought her out red-eyed and shaking. "Shannon? Are you ok?"

"I'll.. I'll be fine, Charlie. It's just stupid Boone, that's all." She sank to the floor, leaning against the wall, and Libby knelt beside her.

"We thought it might be that. Don't worry, we're here for you."

"I know." She sniffed, and blew her nose on a tissue, "Thanks for looking after me."

Libby smiled and put an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Hey, now. That's our job, remember."

"Shall we get back to the others?"

"Yeah. I'm fine now. I just needed a minute." Libby helped her friend to her feet, and we went back to the foodcourt. When we sat down at the table, the others looked up. Ana spoke first. "Are you okay, Shannon?"

Shannon nodded. "Yeah, thanks Ana. It's just Boone being a freak again, I got a bit upset about it."


	4. Introducing Penelope Widmore

_Author's Note: This is a long one, and all from Sawyer's POV – no particular reason, he's just fun to write for. Anyway, in this excerpt we find out something quite important – involving James Ford and a young lady (from Lost) who you should find familiar. Enjoy, folks – and remember to review! _

_Author's Note 2: For those who wanted some Shayid in this fic – I will try to get Sayid in somehow, but please forgive me if I don't. And for those who are rooting for Skate – read the end of this chapter, you'll like it._

Part Four

James

So, we're all sitting around in the foodcourt, everyone's finished their food and we're all just sat talking about what to do for the weekend, bitching about school, teachers, homework. Shannon's sitting with Libby, who's comforting her after what happened with Boone, and reassuring her that everything will be okay. Personally, I think Boone has serious problems. Of, y'know, the mental variety. No-one else I know is stalking his own goddamn sister, and I know some pretty weird people.

Anyway, I'm sitting there with Ana next to me on one side, Freckles and Jack on the other. Freckles ain't paying any attention to me, though, seein'as how Jacko's tryin' to tutor her about that math problem we did in class today. Y'know, from the way she's nodding and writin' stuff down, I'd say she's got it.

Well, well, looks like ol' Jack's good for something after all. At least someone could get through to her. But anyway, Ana's talking to Des, about how he's finding the school, what it's like being at school so far from home, stuff like that. I'm kinda half-listening to Ana an' Des, half to Jack and Freckles. But unfortunately for yours truly, I get jolted out of my not-too-bad situation by Ana trying to get Des' attention. He'd just stopped talking, and instead he was staring over mine and Ana's shoulders. Ana twisted around in her chair to see what or who he'd seen, frowned, and tapped me on the shoulder.

"James? Look who's here."

"What is it, Chica?" I turned around to look where Ana was pointing. "Well, now, what have we here? Looks like Miss High-an-Mighty Daddy's Girl has decided to grace this lowly mall with her presence. And, of course we have all her little friends as well, ain't that sweet."

Then, Des surprised us both by managing to stop staring long enough to talk. "That girl.. who is she?"

"That, mate, is Miss Penelope Widmore, the richest and probably most spoilt in senior year. Her family moved out here from England a few years back, and she's been flaunting her cash ever since…" I was going to carry on, but Des had gone back to staring at her. He murmured "Penelope…"

I shook my head at that – another guy entranced by Penny Widmore. Well, better nip this little obsession in the bud. I waved a hand in front of Des' face. "Des! Des, over here."

He turned back to me, and immediately asked The Question. "James… please, tell me she doesn't have a boyfriend? Does she?"

"Des, seriously, I know she's hot, but there is no way she will go out with you. And even if you asked her out and she said yes, you'd still have to get past her dad, and rumour has it he's pretty tough to please. So seriously, mate, forget her."

"Oh… but she's so…"

"I know, mate, I know. You'll get over her. D'you want another drink?"

"Oh, yeah… sure, brotha. Thanks."

So, I get up and grab a few more Cokes out of the vending machine, and as I head back to my seat, I see one of the most unusual sights I've ever seen and stopped dead in my tracks. And I know what y'all are thinking, and no, it wasn't aliens or a ghost materialising in the middle of the food court, or a dinosaur charging through.

Nah, what I saw was definitely real, and involved two people who were definitely alive and very very human. What I saw was Penelope Widmore walking very purposely over to our table. When she got there, Des stood up – probably just being the gentleman – and she went over to him.

"Hello. I've seen you at school, haven't I?" She said in her soft, English-accented voice.

"Uh, yes, I'm an exchange student… I haven't… um… been here very long."

"An exchange student? Wow, that's so great. And you're scottish, right?"

Des seemed to have lost his voice, so he just nodded weakly.

"Ah, you don't have to be nervous." she laughed. "I'm not scary, am I?"

"Um.. no, no you're not scary."

By this time, the others at the table had seen what was happening, and had all stopped what they were doing to watch. Charlie even stopped playing his guitar, which believe you me does not happen often outside of class.

"Well, I recognised you as the new guy, so I thought I'd come over and introduce myself." She held out a hand. "Penelope Widmore. But seeing as I like you, you can call me Penny."

Des shook her hand carefully. "Penny. Nice to meet you. I'm Desmond."

"Nice to meet you too. And I see you've made friends already, that's nice, we don't want you to get lonely, do we?" She looked around, and saw me standing there with three cans of Coke. "Ah, you're friends with James, are you? I'm assuming he told you my name."

"He did.."

"Did he tell you we dated?" Des shook his head, and she sighed. "Oh, I thought he wouldn't. Anyway, James here was my first boyfriend after we moved to America. I think it's the accent he likes, myself. Am I right, James?"

"As always, Penny."

"I told you so. But my daddy's very protective of me, and he really doesn't like James, and hated me dating him, so we broke up."

"Oh."

"Oops, I didn't tell you the point of my story. Anyway, since then, James tells any guy who shows interest in me that I'm completely unattainable and a spoilt bitch. It's probably just jealousy that he can't have me back."

"Penny…" Oh, God, I shouldn't have done that. I'm in for it now.

"What, James?"

"Why do you do this every time? Don't you get tired of it?"

"No." she said oh-so-sweetly. "It's fun. Now if you don't mind, I have to talk to Desmond here about something."

"Fine. Bye, Penny."

"Bye James!"

I went back to the table, dumped the cans and slouched back in my chair. Ana hugged me and asked what was wrong.

"Just Penny, Chica. Nothin' for you to worry 'bout."

"You should just forget about her, aren't I enough for you?"

" 'Course you are." I kissed her quickly. "She just always knows how to get to me, is all."

"Don't worry about her. I'll help you get over her."

We sat together like that for a while, as I watched Penny talking to Des. I saw them swap phone numbers. Most importantly, I saw her kiss him on the cheek before going back to her friends. He came back to our table then, but before she went back to hers, she made a detour and pulled me away from Ana and off to one side.

"Look, James, I think you might actually be mature about this for once, which is the only reason I'm telling you this."

"Fine, I'll be mature. What d'you want?"

"I wanted to tell you that my daddy is a lot less strict about boyfriends now. I also want you to know that he would prefer it if I married someone from back home in the UK, so I doubt he'll have a problem with me dating your friend Desmond. Anyway, I like Desmond and I'll date who I like."

"Is that it, princess?"

"Yep, that's about it. Goodbye, James. Oh, and I see you're with Ana-Lucia Cortez now, well done you."

"What do you know, Penny?"

"What, me? Not much, not much at all."

"Penny."

"Oh, fine. But you didn't hear this from me, okay?"

"Okay. What is it?"

"Well, word is someone you know quite well likes you as a lot more than a friend, and it definitely isn't Ana-Lucia. That's the gossip going around these days."

"Who?"

"I don't know…"

"Don't bullshit me, Penny. You know who it is, tell me. Now."

"Fine. But I am not responsible for anything that happens afterwards."

"No, you're not responsible. Who, Penny?"

"I'm surprised you don't know already, you've known her for a long, long time. Longer than you've known me, certainly. You grew up in the same neighbourhood, you come from similar backgrounds…"

"… it's Katie, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's Kate."

"Uh, thanks for telling me that, Penny. I'll see you around, ok?"

"Sure. See you, James."

I went back to the table, trying to process the information Penny had given me. I sat down and kissed Ana again. I popped open a can of Coke, took a swig, and leantback in my chair. I took one careful glance at Kate, who was busy talking to Shannon and Libby and Hurley and Charlie about what had happened between Des and Penny.

Oh, Freckles. Why didn't you say anything?


	5. My sister!

**Author's Note: Okay, I'm sorry this has taken a bit longer than the previous chapters. I will try and update more regularly, promise. Anyway, today's episode is mainly Jack-centric, with input from Ana and Charlie, and a surprise appearance from another Lostie. Enjoy, folks!**

**(And, as always, I don't own Lost.)**

Jack

That Friday night, I got home at about six in the evening to find Mom and Dad in the living room waiting for me. As I shut the door, Mom called out to me.

"Jack, honey?"

"Yes Mom?"

"Can you come in here for a minute? It shouldn't take long."

"Sure."

I dropped my schoolbag by the stairs, shrugged off my coat and went through to the living room.

"Sit down, please, Jack."

I sat down on the sofa next to Mom, waiting for whatever it was they had to tell me. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, no nothing's wrong, honey."

Then Dad spoke from the other side of the room, where he sat in his usual armchair with a glass of what looked like whisky. He drained the glass in one go, then looked up at me and spoke.

"Son, when you were little… when you were only a baby… I did something I shouldn't have…"

"What?"

"Please, let me finish. I did something I shouldn't have, something I have regretted doing for many years. I had an affair."

"What?!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was just sitting there, calmly admitting to being unfaithful, and Mom seemed fine with it. "Mom, did you know? Aren't you angry?"

"Oh, Jack. I've known for a long time. I was angry, for a time, when your father first told me all those years ago, but I know that he hasn't cheated again, and I trust him."

"Jack, please. I have to tell you something important."  
"Okay."

"The woman… that I had an affair with. She moved, after we broke up, she moved to Australia. And about a year after I ended it, she contacted me and said that she had given birth to a daughter three months earlier. My daughter."

For a moment, all I could do was look at him in amazement. "A daughter…"

"That's right. Your sister, Jack."

"Why are you telling me this now?"

"I had a call today, from the Australian Embassy. Lindsey… the woman I had the affair with… she's dead. She was involved in a car crash in Sydney, she died very quickly."

"That's very sad, but why do I need to know this?"

"Well… you see, Lindsey didn't really have any family, besides her daughter, so now that Lindsey's dead, her daughter needs a guardian. She's only sixteen, she needs somewhere to live. And… I am now her legal guardian. She's going to live with us from now on."

"So… how long have you known this?"

"A few days, why?"

"When is this new sister arriving? Have you been arranging everything behind my back? Why didn't you tell me as soon as you were told?"

"I was scared, Jack. I was worried that you would react like this, and that your anger towards me would express itself as hatred of your sister. I wanted you to like her, to be friends with her."

"You thought I would be angry, so you _delayed_ telling me?" I sighed with exasperation. "Well, it's too late now. What's her name? When _is_ she getting here?"

"Her name is Claire, and the other reason I didn't tell you immediately is because I was busy arranging her flight over here, and sorting everything out with Immigration. And your mother and I had to sort out one of the spare bedrooms for her. She's already here, son. She's in the kitchen, right now."

"Right now?"

"Yes… Margo, could you bring Claire in, please?"

Mom got up. "Of course, dear." and walked quickly over to the kitchen.

A minute or so later, Mom came back, leading a petite, pretty girl, wearing a long gypsy-skirt and a sleeveless green vest, with her long blonde hair in a loose braid. Mom brought her over to another armchair, and she carefully sat down. She seemed very shy, and at first she wouldn't meet my gaze.

Mom stood next to her, with one arm around her to comfort her, and she softly said. "Claire, this is our son Jack, your brother." Then she looked up at me. "Jack, remember your manners. Say hello to your sister."

"Uh, I guess I'm not really sure what to say, so… hi. Welcome to LA."

"Hi, Jack."

At this rather awkward point, Mom suggested that she and I take Claire upstairs to her new room, so we stood up. I grabbed my bag and coat from where I'd dumped them as I came in, but when I saw Claire struggling with her obviously heavy suitcase, I dropped them again to carry the case up the stairs for her. Mom pointed me in the direction of the room they'd done up for her, and I heaved the suitcase inside. I looked around quickly before Mom and Claire came in, and saw that whatever Dad had done wrong in the past, he had put a lot of effort into making his daughter feel comfortable. The room had been re-painted a pale apple-green colour, with new curtains to match. She had a double bed, with plump cushions piled up on it, a dressing-table and mirror, a pretty antique writing-desk by the window, and a very comfortable looking armchair in the corner. There was also a brand-new stereo, a phone handset on the dressing table, and a new laptop computer on the desk.

I heard Claire and Mom coming upstairs, so I opened the door as wide as it would go, and showed her… my sister… into her room. She looked around briefly, then gasped. "It's lovely." She turned to Mom. "Thank you, Margo. This is better than I could have imagined."

"Please, dear, call me mom if you like. Now, I think I'll go and fix dinner. Why don't you two stay here for a bit and get to know each other? Oh, and Claire, honey, we got you a stereo and a computer of your own, seeing as Jack has them, and we didn't want you to feel like you're missing out on anything."

"Thank you."

I noticed, as Claire spoke, that she had quite a strong Australian accent. I sat down on the armchair, while she settled herself cross-legged on the bed, while Mom went downstairs. When we were alone, she was the first to break the silence.

"So, I guess I'll be at the same school as you. What's it like there? Come on, tell me everything I need to know, who the cool kids are, who to avoid, who you've got a crush on if you like, what the teachers are like." She looked at me with eyebrows raised. "Well? What were you waiting for?"

"I was wondering where to start… actually, I know what to do. I've got some photos and things in my room. Wait here for a minute and I'll get them."

I hurried to my room, and rifled through my drawers looking for the pictures I had. Eventually I found what I needed – my school yearbook for junior year, and a few of those pouches that photos come in when you get them back from the chemist, held together with an elastic band.

When I got back to Claire, she had brought her new laptop over to the bed, switched it on, and seemed to be checking out the built-in programs it had come with.

"Claire? I found it." I said as I came in.

She pushed the laptop to one side, closed it, and motioned for me to sit on the bed next to her. "Come on then."

We ended up spending the next couple of hours talking. She told me about her mom, and her old life in Sydney, and how much she missed her old friends, and I told her all about school, using my old yearbook to point out the good teachers – Mr Locke, Mrs Nadler – the weird art teacher Ms Rousseau, even the janitor that everyone thought was creepy, Mr Dawson.

The photos came in handy for introducing the seniors and juniors – seeing as Claire's sixteen, she's going into junior year. The pictures were just from the last year or so, some from last year's formal, some from the christmas party, most of them from days when we were just hanging out and messing around with a disposable camera. I pointed out Ana and James (and saw her eyes widen a little when she saw James), but made sure she knew they were dating, showed her Kate, Boone, Shannon, Hurley, Libby and Charlie.

When she saw Charlie, she surprised me by asking if he had a girlfriend.

"What? No, Charlie's not going out with anyone."

"Oh. Okay… I guess that's good…"

"Claire? Do you… do you _like_ Charlie?"

"Well, it's hard to tell just from a picture, but from what you said he seems like a nice guy. Really sweet, you know?"

"I guess… I'll have to introduce you properly."

"You'd do that? For a half-sister that you don't know and who just appeared in your life?"

"Of course. And, you know, I feel like I know you a lot better now."

Just then, my cellphone started ringing in my pocket. Unfortunately, it was a new phone and I hadn't yet changed the cheesy ringtone, so Claire had to stifle her giggles as I answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Jack, it's me."

"Oh, Ana, hi. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to say that my mom's working the night shift tonight, so everyone's coming over to hang out, and I wondered if you wanted to come."

"Uh, yeah, sure… just hang on a minute, Ana." I looked over at Claire "Claire, it's Ana on the phone, and she's just asked me around to her house, everyone's going over there to hang out. Do you want to go?"

"Yeah, okay. I don't exactly have anything else planned for tonight."

"Great." I put the cellphone back to my ear. "Ana?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"I'll be there. What time should I come over?"

"My mom's shift starts at eight, so any time after that."

"Okay. And I'll be bringing someone with me, okay?"

"Sure. Is it a female someone?"

"Yes, but she is _not_ my girlfriend."

"Fine, bring her." I heard Ana's doorbell ring through the phone. "Look, James, Charlie, Kate and Desmond are here already, so just come over whenever, yeah?"

"Okay. See you soon then."

"See you."

Claire looked at me after I hung up. "Will he be there?"

"Yes. He arrived as Ana was talking to me."

"So, what's happening tonight then?"

"Well, Ana lives with her mom, who's a police captain, and Mrs Cortez is on night shift, so Ana has the house to herself. And, as usually happens when her mom's working late, she's making the most of it by inviting people over."

"Okay. Uh, your mom called up while you were on the phone, apparently dinner's ready. Shall we go down now?"

"Sure."

Ana-Lucia

As I hung up the phone, my mom answered the door to let Kate and the guys in, but I managed to get to her before she asked too many questions. She was on her way out anyway, so I volunteered to walk out to her car with her. Before she drove off, she said. "Ana, you're not going to have another party while I'm out, are you?"

"No, mom. I promised, didn't I?"

"I know you promised, but you've broken promises before."

"Mom, I am not having a party tonight. I've just invited a few friends from school over, that's all."

"Is that Jack Shepard coming?"  
"Uh, yeah, he should be."  
"Well, he's a sensible boy, at least. He'll keep the rest of you under control."

"Mother!"

"Well? He will. And he's more mature than that boyfriend of yours, anyway."

"I think it's time for you to leave, Mother."

"Fine. Just.. be good, don't get drunk, and don't trash the house. I'll see you in the morning, honey."

"Bye, Mom."

Mom drove off quickly, and I headed back into the house. I found everyone in the kitchen, and also found a multi-pack of beers on the counter next to James, and each of them had a bottle in his hand. I went over to James, slipped an arm around his waist, and kissed him.

"Hey."

"Hey, Chica. So, anyone else coming over tonight?"

"Well, I didn't ask Boone, after what happened at the mall today, but Shannon and Libby are on their way, Hurley's with them, and Jack should be on his way over after he's had dinner."

"Okay."

"Oh, yeah, and Jack said he was bringing someone with him. Someone we don't know."

"A girl?"

"Yeah."  
"Huh. Maybe it's his new girlfriend."

"Nah, he said she wasn't."

"Well, we'll all find out soon enough."

Jack turned up at five minutes past eight. He rang the bell when he arrived, and Charlie was sitting nearest to the door, so he answered. He opened the door, and we heard him greet Jack, but then he just said "Hello…" to Jack's mysterious female companion, before he kinda trailed off.

Charlie

I got up to answer the door as the bell rang. I opened the door, let Jack in, and I was about to say Hi to the girl Ana said he was bringing, when I actually saw the petite blonde girl who had been standing just behind Jack. I managed a weak "Hello…" but my voice seemed to have gone. The girl in front of me was beautiful… long blonde hair, blue eyes, she was amazing.

And she seemed a bit uncomfortable about me staring at her like Boone staring at Shannon. Fortunately for both of us, Jack noticed and turned back.

"Claire, this is my friend Charlie. He's in junior year, like you will be. Charlie, this is my half-sister, Claire."

"What?"

"Uh, I think we should get everyone in the living room, then I only have to explain this once."

Ana heard that, and soon had everyone both provided with a drink and sitting down in the living room. Jack explained carefully, telling us everything his Dad had said about having an affair, and about Claire's mom dying in an accident, and Claire coming to live with the Shepards in LA. All through his speech, I just couldn't stop looking at her. I'm pretty sure she was looking at me a few times as well.

Unfortunately for me, as Jack was talking, she also seemed to spend a lot of time looking in the direction of that Desmond guy, who was sitting just opposite her.

Even worse, although he was paying attention to Jack at first, his gaze slid over to Claire, at about the same time she was looking in his direction.


	6. New Relationships

Desmond

Sitting in Ana-Lucia's living room with everyone was okay, actually. When James called me over after school, I was a little apprehensive. Even as 'the new guy', I heard enough locker-room gossip to work out for myself that any friend of James Ford was automatically considered 'cool'. I _also_ found that James had a bit of a reputation, for charming everyone he met, being kind and very protective to his friends and being rather… fierce… with his enemies.

So, when I heard a "Hey!" come from his direction, and saw him gesturing for me to come over, I was a little nervous. After all, I didn't know what he was going to do.

I needn't have worried. He only invited me to join him and his friends at the mall for the afternoon. I guess I should be thanking him, really, seeing as while we were at the mall I met the most wonderful girl I've ever seen, Penny. And I guess I made an impression, seeing as I have her number and he dropped by my house this evening asking if I wanted to go to Ana-Lucia's house and hang out.

So, obviously I accepted the offer, and now I was sitting on one end of a sofa in Ana-Lucia's living room with a beer. Jack had just introduced us to a very pretty blonde girl named Claire, who was apparently his half-sister, although from the looks of shock and surprise on everyone's faces, I gathered that she had not been around for long. She was very pretty, though, and I was a little surprised to find her looking at me. I smiled at her, trying to be friendly, but I got the impression she wasn't just thinking about making friends. Just then, though, I felt my cellphone vibrate in my pocket and pulled in out to see who was calling. Then I got my second surprise of the evening, as I saw Penny's name on the caller ID. I got up and went into the hall to answer, seeing as it was quieter there, and pressed the 'accept' key.

"Hello?"

"Desmond? Are you busy right now?"

"Uh, I'm at Ana-Lucia's, with James and everyone. Why?"

"Well, you know I said at the mall that I had plans for this evening… well, those plans sort of fell through, so I wondered if you wanted to meet up."

"I guess you could come over here. Hang on a sec, I'll ask Ana if it's okay."

"Okay, sure."

I put my phone down on the hall table, and quickly went to where Ana was sitting.

"Ana? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Desmond, what is it?"

"Uh, well, I just spoke to Penny, and I was wondering if it would be okay for me to invite her over. Only if it's okay with you, of course."

"Oh, is that all? Sure, ask her over, it's fine."

"Great. I'll just, you know, let her know."

I picked up the phone again.

"Penny?"

"I'm here."

"Ana says it's fine, so do you want to come over?"

"Sure, I'd love to."

"Do you know her address?"

"I think so. I'll see you soon, okay?""  
"Yea. See you soon."

I hung up the phone and went back to the sitting room, still partly in shock that such an amazing girl was apparently interested in me.

Half an hour later

Penny didn't take long to reach Ana's house, and it turned out that she did have the address. I got up to let her in, and even though she was only wearing jeans and an embroidered blouse, with her hair loose around her shoulders, she looked incredibly beautiful.

"Uh, you look great, Penny. And… you found the house ok, obviously."

"Yeah, I did. And you look good too."

"Thanks. So, you'd better come in then."

I showed Penny into the house, and helped her take off her coat before hanging it up for her. As I turned back towards her, she reached up and kissed me, softly, on my cheek.

"What was that for?"

"Like I said at the mall. I like you, and I'd like to get to know you better."

"Oh.Well, okay then."

We shared another quick kiss before heading back to the others, where we sat down together.

And the rest of the evening? Well, I went to Ana's house hoping to get to know my new friends better, but I ended up spending most of the evening with Penny. Not that I regret that, as Penny is pretty much the best thing that ever happened to me.

Claire

I have to say, moving from Australia to America was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It all happened so fast, my mum dying, and then the lawyers saying that they'd found my biological father and he was willing to take me in – if I moved to California, where he lives. I didn't have much choice, really. I'm only sixteen, so I have to be looked after by an adult guardian, and there was no-one at home who could do that. So I was packed off to America, where my father and my - well, I guess she's my step-mother, really – met me at the airport. Dr. Christian Shepard, the man who had an affair with my mum sixteen years ago and produced me. They were very nice to me, and they took me back to their house in the suburbs. This afternoon, they introduced me to their son, Jack, who's a year older than me. Jack's okay, actually, he made me feel really welcome. In fact, he got invited around to a friend's house for this evening, and took me with him to help me make new friends.

The friend turned out to be a senior girl called Ana-Lucia, who's really pretty and is going out with a guy called James. From what Jack said, I don't think they get on well, but James seemed like the perfect gentleman to me. One of the other guys there was this really cute guy called Charlie, who Jack showed me a picture of before. It was Charlie who opened the door when Jack and I arrived, and I think he might like me. I kind of like him, too, he's funny and he's really good at playing the guitar, but after Jack had introduced me to everyone I noticed someone else sitting quietly to one side, listening to everyone else talk. I can't remember his name but he had this quite long, dark hair and amazing brown eyes. He saw me looking, though, and smiled at me, which made me blush. Just then, Charlie said he wanted me to listen to some songs he'd written, and by the time I got back he was sitting with a girl I didn't know, so I didn't disturb him.

I was just sitting down, thinking that it was so typical of my luck to like the guy with the new girlfriend, when Charlie sat down next to me. The rest of the evening went much better, as we got a few pizzas delivered and Charlie and I shared one, seeing as we're apparently the only ones who like plain cheese and tomato with olives. We had a lovely talk, though, while we ate, and by the time everyone started to leave it felt like we had known each other for ages. We exchanged cellphone numbers, promising to call, and just as Jack and I were about to go home – Jack was already in his car – Charlie ran over to me and kissed me quickly.

"Don't forget to call me, yeah?"

"Of course not. You're going home now as well, aren't you?"  
"Yeah, call me when you get back, I don't live too far from here and I'll probably be home by the time you are."

"Okay then. I'll talk to you soon."

We had a quick goodbye hug, then Jack yelled at me to get in thecar, so I had to go. When we were on the way home, he started asking me about Charlie.

"So, how do you like Charlie, then?"

"Jack! That's none of your business!"

"Hey, you've only just arrived, and you are my little sister, so I basically have to keep an eye on you."  
"Jack, I can look after myself, you know."

"Yeah, I'm sure you can. And Charlie's a nice guy. If you have to date anyone, I'd rather it was him. He'll look after you."

"Okay, well, at least I have your approval."

That night, Charlie and I talked for hours on the phone, and when I finally fell asleep I did so feeling much happier than I had since coming to Los Angeles.


	7. and a breakup

**Author's Note: Well, everyone, you asked for a SKate chapter, and today is your lucky day, as this is the first of the proper SKate chapters. This part features a Sana break-up, the proper SKate will be in part eight. **

Kate

This week has not been the one of the best I've ever had. School's been hopeless, and though I've got Jack around to help with some things, he can't make the teachers ease up on me or stop my mom's boyfriend spending all day drunk and hurting my mom. I hate that Mom won't throw Wayne out of the house, I hate that she always forgives him. No matter how many bruises she has to hide, or how many times he tries to take it out on me, she always forgives him.

I try to stay out of the house as much as possible. I stay with friends and only go back late at night, when he's already in the pub, or sometimes I don't go back at all. A lot of the time, I stay over at James' house. He lives with his grandparents, and they've gotten used to me now. At least with the Fords I can feel safe, and looked after. James used to offer to go round to my mom's house and beat Wayne up for me, each time I showed up at school with a new bruise, but I know it wouldn't help, even if it does make me feel better that he offers. At least someone cares about me.

But that's part of the problem. He cares, but somehow I get the feeling that his feelings for me aren't quite the same as my feelings for him. When I stay over in the spare room, I think about him in his room down the corridor, and I wish I could stay with him. It hurts even more when Ana comes over, and I see them so happy, so close, and I see the look on his face that says how much he loves being with her.

Tonight, at Ana's house, I did kind of have a good time. It was nice just to sit and talk and listen to music. But the whole night, James and Ana were together, and everyone else seemed to be pairing off as well – Hurley and Libby, Charlie and Claire, even Des and Penny Widmore. At one point it was just me, Jack and Shannon who _weren't_ holding hands or kissing. And I'm pretty sure Shannon was eyeing up Jack.

At about eleven pm, people started going home, and eventually everyone had left except me and James. I was claiming his spare room again this week, and James was going to drive me back to his so I had to wait for him. I ended up sitting in the hall, with my coat on, while James had what seemed to be a very heated conversation with Ana in the kitchen. Seeing as there was nothing else to do, I quietly moved over the door and listened to them talk.

James

"Chica, please…"

"Don't call me that, James!"

"Fine, _Ana-Lucia_, please, listen to me. Just let me get a goddamn word in edgeways and listen to what I have to say."

"Okay. What's going on, James? Enlighten me. Tell me why, apparently, I'm not good enough for you any more. Tell me why, just _six hours_ after you said everything was fine between us, you're spending most of the evening staring at another girl. Tell me, James. Tell me whatever story you've made up for the occasion. Well?" Ana snarled at me.

"Ana, please calm down. I know you think I'm cheating but I'm not, I swear. How can I make you see that?"

"I know your reputation, James. Everyone talks about how even when you have a girlfriend, you're already looking for the next one. I see how you look at the other girls at school and I hate it, but at school there's nothing I can do. But when you're eyeing up other girls, who are _my friends_, in my own home, that is something I will not and can not allow. So if you want to be with someone else, James, tell me and then get the hell out of my house."

I leant against the kitchen wall, and tried to answer her honestly. Part of me wanted to tell her I loved her, and reassure her that she was the only girl I wanted. But I knew that if I said those things I would be lying. All I could think about was Freckles, and what Penny told me at the mall earlier. Though I didn't like it, and it was possibly one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do, I decided to tell her the truth, and talk things over with Freckles later.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Ana. There's someone else that I like."

"I knew it."

"Nothing's happened, I promise. I just… look, sometimes. That's all."

Her reaction wasn't quite what I expected. I was ready for screaming, shouting, crying, things being thrown at me. But what she did was stare at me in disbelief.

"_What?_"

"I told you, nothing happened."

"No, I don't think you understand, James. You just told me that you liked another girl, who you haven't identified but I'm pretty sure she was here tonight, and then you say "Nothing's happened" and expect that I will be okay with that. Well, you know what? I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I ever got involved with you. I thought it would be different, somehow, I thought you weren't like the other guys at school. And now, I know I was wrong."

"Is this it, then?"

"Yes, James, this is it. This relationship is now officially over."

"I'll go then."

I stood up and headed for the door. Just as I grasped the door handle, Ana spoke again.

"James."

I turned to face her. "Yes? Any insults you've thought of, anything you'd like to throw at me?"

"Nothing like that."

"Well, there's something to be thankful for."

"Who is she?"

"What?"

"The other girl. Who is she?"

"You don't need to know that, Chica."

"Please tell me, James."

"No!" I started to turn back to the door.

"I can work it out for myself, you know. But I'd rather not."

I sighed, then turned to face her again.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you. I can't do that, not just yet. So do it, work it out. Go on."

"Fine. I will. I know it wasn't Libby or Claire, they spent the whole evening with Hurley and Charlie. It could have been Penny, but you'll never get back together with her and she spent all her time with Desmond. Which leaves Shannon and Kate. And of the two of them, I know which one you'd go for. And it isn't Shannon. Am I right, James?"

I looked at Ana, looking straight into her eyes, and nodded once.

"You're right."

The next thing I heard wasn't Ana. It was the kitchen door opening. Just outside, in the hall near the kitchen, Freckles was standing there, staring at me. It didn't take a genius to know that she'd heard every word.


	8. SKate time!

**Author's Note: Well, here's the long-awaited SKate chapter. It's only short, but the next chapter will be in that most romantic of places (when you're a teen)… the cinema. And there might be some Jana coming up. As usual, please R&R and I don't own any of this.**

James

"Freckles… Did you…"

Kate nodded slowly. "Yeah. I heard everything."

I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly to give myself time to think. "Uh, we really need to talk."

"We do. Is Ana going to be okay?"

Ana heard that, and shouted "I'll be fine. I don't need either of you. NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

"I think she'll be fine, Freckles. Let's go."

Freckles and I headed for the door, before Ana came out of the kitchen and threw us out, but we stopped for a moment when we reached the sidewalk outside. She looked up at me, with tears in her eyes.

"James, did you mean what you said in there?"

"I said a lot of things. Which one did you mean?"

"You said there was someone else you liked, Ana guessed it was me, and you said she was right. Did you mean that, or was it just an excuse to get Ana to dump you?"

"Come on, Freckles, would I do that?"

"You've done it before. In freshman year, you were going out with Rachel Green and you told her you liked Penny, so she dumped you. Are you doing that now?"

"No."

"So, it's true? You like me, over Ana-Lucia?"

"Yes. I realise I should have told you sooner, but the last couple of weeks all I've been able to think about is you, Freckles."

"Oh, my God, I can't believe this is happening. I… I can't stop thinking about you either. I felt so awkward around you and Ana when you were together, I wished it was you and me instead of you and her…" Then, Freckles burst into tears, and I took her in my arms and let her cry into my shirt for a while. When the tears stopped, she looked up at me and smiled.

"James, you're my best friend. I know you almost as well as I know myself. And right now, I'm certain of one thing. I love you."

"I love you, too."

I kissed her then. Brought my lips down to hers and kissed her. Just a soft, gentle, chaste touch on her lips at first, then deeper and more passionate. And as we stood there together on the sidewalk outside Ana's house, bathed in the orangey glow of the nearest streetlamp, I realised that every girlfriend I'd ever had – Rachel, Penny, Ana and a few others – who wasn't Katie was wasted time that I could have spent with Katie. I realised that we were supposed to be together. We were meant to be together.

When we broke the kiss, we went over to my car and I drove us back to my house. My grandparents were already in bed, but then they usually were when I got home on a Friday night. Usually, Freckles would have stayed in the spare room, which my gran always keeps ready for her if she needs it, but tonight was different. Special. Instead, we both went to my room. Neither of us felt particularly tired, so rather than sleep we sat up and talked. Eventually we did get tired though, and we ended up falling asleep fully dressed, and wrapped in each other's arms.

Kate

That morning, I didn't wake up in the Fords' spare room, where I expected to. I woke up in James' bedroom, lying in his arms. Then I remembered what had happened last night at Ana-Lucia's house, and I remembered our first kiss on the sidewalk outside, and I smiled to myself.

I remembered that today was Saturday, so I wasn't worried about school or anything, but we'd made plans to see a movie and I guessed it would be a good idea to get up so we could actually go, so I carefully slid off the bed and headed to the spare room – 'my' room – to get my bag of toiletries so I could have a shower. Afterwards I went back to the spare room to get dressed, then headed to James' room to see if he was awake yet.

It turned out that he wasn't, so I sat down on his bed and started to find the places where I knew he was ticklish. Trust me, he wasn't asleep for much longer.

While he had his own shower and got dressed, I had some breakfast in the kitchen and chatted with his gran about school and our plans for the weekend. I also told her that he and Ana-Lucia had broken up, and that we were a couple now. I knew that James' grandparents liked me, but she seemed thrilled that I was dating her grandson, and mentioned words like 'engagement' and 'wedding' and 'babies' a lot, so I had to stop her there and remind her that we hadn't even been a couple for 24 hours yet, and it was a bit soon to be talking about getting married.


	9. A trip to the movies

Part Nine

James

Seein' as it was a Saturday, an' no-one had much homework to do, we all decided to go to the movie theatre downtown and catch a film. Unfortunately, that meant a couple hours' worth of arguing about what to see. Shannon wanted to see some chick flick called "The Holiday", and Libby and Claire agreed. Meanwhile Desmond professed a love of Bond films, which Jackass apparently likes as well, so they wanted to see the new Bond movie. Hurley sided with the girls, and Charlie mentioned some movie called "Tenacious D" or something, but that suggestion got shot down by everyone else.

As for me an' Freckles, we didn't really mind all that much, but I know Freckles hates girly films, so when I finally got everyone to shut up I suggested that we see the Bond movie. When Sticks argued that it was a guys' movie, I reminded her who was in it and she just said "Oh yeah" and shut up.

So, once that little problem was sorted, we all got our tickets and spent a few minutes getting drinks and popcorn before finding seats. Freckles and I sat together, of course, with Charlie and Claire next to us and Shannon next to Claire, and Hurley, Libby, Jack and Des sitting in the row in front.

At first, everyone paid attention to the film, but soon I noticed Charlie put an arm around Claire's shoulders, and I'm pretty sure Hurley and Libby were holding hands. As for me, I had an arm around Freckles, and we were sharing a tub of popcorn. About half an hour into the film, she whispered in my ear.

"I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be back soon."

"Okay."

As Freckles crept out of the movie theatre, I had an idea, and put the popcorn down before following her out a couple of minutes later. As I got to the corridor, I looked around to make sure there was no-one else around, and followed her in. Apart from Katie it was empty, and she was standing at a sink with her back to the door when I came in. I moved up behind her and put my hands on her waist as I gently kissed the side of her neck.

"You're not supposed to be here."

"I know… but I couldn't resist."

"It's okay. There's no-one else here." She said as she turned around to face me. "How's the movie?"

"It's okay. I think I'd rather be with you, though."

Katie reached up then and kissed me, wrapping her arms around me as she did so. She pulled away for a moment and looked up at me. "James, why did it take so long for this to happen?"

"You're my best friend, Freckles. I suppose we never saw each other that way."

"Maybe."

"Why did you ask?"

"It's just… this, being with you like this, it feels so right. I never felt this way with anyone else, not Kevin, not Tom."

"I know what you mean… but we should really be getting back."

"Can I have another kiss first?"

"Glad to oblige, princess." And I kissed her again, before we were disturbed by two girls coming into the bathroom, which was our cue to go back to our seats.

When we were sitting down again, Charlie nudged me and whispered "What happened to you, mate? You missed a really good bit."

"None o'your business, Tattoo."

"Fine, don't tell me."

Fortunately for me, just then Claire said something to Charlie, which left me free to put an arm around Freckles and relax. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I gently kissed the top of her head, breathing in the smell of her hair. She murmured, so softly only I could hear it, "Hey, not here."

"Why not?" I whispered into her ear.

"Our friends are here, in case you'd forgotten."

"No, Freckles, I hadn't forgotten. I just don't see why we should hide this."

She sat up and looked at me in the near-darkness of the movie theatre. "James, are you serious?"

"Of course."

"You think we should tell everyone?"

"Why not?"

"They don't even know about you and Ana-Lucia breaking up yet."

"So? I'll tell them after the film."

"And explain about us?"  
"Yeah."

"Okay then." Then she surprised me by kissing me quickly before settling against my shoulder again.

Kate

Now that James had assured me he would tell everyone about his break-up from Ana after the movie, and explain that we were together now, I felt like I could relax. So I reached over and kissed him quickly. As I pulled away to settle into my seat again, I happened to see Shannon staring at me with her mouth open. Obviously she'd seen me kiss him. Well, she would have found out soon anyway.

When the movie finished, the lights came up and we all started to leave. As we walked down the corridor into the lobby with the others, Shannon, Claire and Charlie came over, wanting to know what was going on.

"Well? Tell us, Kate. What's happening between you and James?"

"Shannon, we'll explain everything soon, okay? Just wait a bit longer."

"Fine. But "soon" had better come really, really quickly."

When we reached the lobby, we decided to go to the nearby café for a drink, and James and I decided that it would be a good time to get everyone up to date. The café was pretty empty, so we pushed a couple of tables together, got drinks and sat down. When everyone was settled, James got everyone's attention.

"Uh, guys, I have something I need to tell you." He took a deep breath. "Um, last night… last night, after you guys had gone home, me and Ana broke up. It wasn't easy, but… it had to be done. And the second thing, which is partly why we broke up, is that since about eleven pm last night, Katie and I have been a couple." I reached out and held his hand. I looked at the others, to see how they were taking the news, and saw several rather confused faces.

At least, most of them looked confused. Shannon looked almost triumphant, seeing as she's been trying to push us together for months now, and Jack… if I didn't know better, I'd say Jack looked distraught. As if his world was about to fall apart. For a moment, I thought maybe he had feelings for me, but I dismissed it, telling myself not to be stupid. Jack is a friend, a good friend, but I'm sure he doesn't feel like that about me. He's never said anything, done anything. I probably just misread his expression.

Anyway, I'm with James now. No-one, not even Jack, could make me break up with James.


	10. Shayid

**A/N: Well, I hope you all liked the SKate in the last couple of chapters, but that relationship is going to be taking a backseat for this chapter, because we need to introduce another pairing, which I was asked to include… but who will it be?**

**(Oh, okay, it's Shayid.) **

**Disclaimer: I am neither JJ Abrams nor Damon Lindelof, nor do I work for ABC. I don't own these characters, I just like to play with them, so don't sue me.**

Jack

The movie that I saw with the others was pretty good actually, and afterwards we went for a drink and some food in the café next door. When we were all sitting down, James got our attention, and told us all that he had broken up with Ana-Lucia, and that he was with Kate now.

I saw her reach out and hold his hand, I saw her smile at him and saw him smile back. I saw him kiss her. I had dreamt of Kate and I being like that, holding hands and kissing, and now she was doing those things with _him_.

I suppose I should have guessed. No-one thought James and Ana-Lucia would last long, they're too much alike for that. And Kate is his best friend, they've known each other forever and spend most of their time together anyway. She practically lived at his house even when they weren't dating. Maybe I should have said something, told her how I feel. Then she might be my girlfriend now, instead of _his_.

I saw Kate glance over at me, and she seemed concerned for a moment – as if she knew I had feelings for her. But the concern in her eyes only lasted for a second, before she turned back to her boyfriend. I knew I should have said something. She thinks I only like her as a friend, and why would she hesitate to go out with James if she didn't have feelings for anyone else? God, I feel like an idiot sometimes.

Still, at least I have one thing to look forward to: on Monday, the seniors are getting a guided tour of the local college, to see if we want to go there after we graduate. Dad wants me to go to Columbia for med school, where he trained, but I'm not sure. The college here has a med school, and if I stay here I'll be with my friends. Though, really, the only person I would stay for is Kate. But I'll go on this tour, because its better than sitting in class knowing that Kate's holding hands with _him_ behind me.

Kate

James and I spent the rest of the weekend together. We didn't do anything special, just went for a long walk together on Saturday afternoon, and Sunday we just sat in his back garden doing homework and talking. I was looking forward to Monday, and the college trip, but James wasn't so sure. I don't know what he's so worried about, he won't have any trouble getting into a good college.

Anyway, like it or not Monday morning arrived, and he came to my house first thing in the morning so he could drive me to school. I was just glad to have to excuse to get out of the house, because Wayne had been drinking the night before and was not in a good mood. When we got to school , we had a little kiss sitting in the car, and another kiss, and another one, so it's not surprising that we were almost late for homeroom. We only got there in time because Charlie knocked on the car window on his way into school.,

When we were, finally, sitting in our usual seats in the classroom, our homeroom teacher Mrs Nadler took a register, and then started telling us about the planned trip to college, before herding us out to the coach in the carpark where the other seniors were waiting. It didn't take long for us to reach the college campus, and the rest of the morning was spent following a tour guide around the campus buildings. I think everyone was relieved when lunchtime came, and we were allowed to get food from the college canteen.

Boone

Though most of the others seemed pretty bored by the tour, I found it very interesting. I got talking to one of the Teaching Assistants showing us around – a Middle Eastern guy called Sayid. He said he had come to America to study Communications Technology, and was now working for the college part-time as he finished his degree. When it was time for lunch, we found a table so we could carry on talking.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to keep our privacy for long, as James, Kate and Desmond came over and sat down next to us, followed by Jack and Ana-Lucia who sat at the far end of the table, obviously avoiding James and Kate.

After lunch, the seniors split up into groups depending on what college major they were interested in, and then each group was taken on a tour of the faculty buildings for the subject. By the time we finished, the school day was over, so the teachers let us leave straight from the college instead of going back to school. We'd arranged for Charlie, Hurley, Libby, Shannon and Jack's sister Claire to come down to the college and meet us outside, so we – James, Kate, Desmond and I, with Jack and Ana-Lucia nearby but keeping their distance - waited outside with them.

Just as Shannon and the others arrived on the bus, Sayid, the TA I'd met earlier, passed us on his way out, to give me some leaflets I'd asked for. He paused for a minute to give me his email address and cellphone number, which meant that Shannon, Charlie and everyone else had already reached us.

Shannon

God, I hate Mondays. School was boring, as usual, made worse by the fact that all the seniors had gone on an away-day to visit the local college. Still, after school me, Libby, Claire, Hurley and Charlie got the bus down to the college to meet up with the others and find out what they thought of college.

As we walked away from the bus towards the spot where we could see them waiting, this guy with quite long, dark hair went over to Boone and handed him something before saying goodbye and walking away. As he turned to leave, I saw his face, and saw his gorgeous dark brown eyes. _Un_fortunately, I was so busy staring I didn't notice when I walked into him, making me drop my bag and him drop the books he was carrying. I blushed, and quickly picked up my bag and started to pick up one of his books when I felt his fingers touch my hand gently.

"It is all right. I can do that myself." As he spoke, I noticed he had a great accent.

"Oh, no, I want to… it's my fault."

"No, I should have been paying attention to where I was walking. Are you all right?"  
"Uh.. I'm fine. Thanks. Sorry, again."  
"I told you, there is no need for you to say sorry, it was not your fault. After all, it is not every day that I walk into an attractive blonde."

I stared at him for a moment, then blushed. "Uh, thank you? I'm Shannon, by the way."

"Pleased to meet you, Shannon. I am Sayid Jarrah."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Sayid and I exchanged cellphone numbers, but then he had to go – something about work, I think he said. After he was gone, though, I kept thinking about him, especially those eyes, and when someone – James, I think – suggested we go back to his and everyone else agreed, I just followed them. I didn't really care what we did, I would just spend the whole time thinking about Sayid anyway.

**A/N:**

**First, thanks for all the reviews I've had – I'm not going to reply to all of them, just the recent ones.**

**Shayid4eva – I said I would give you Shayid, and I have. You like? (There will be more in future chapters, but I had to get them introduced first.**

**Rita – Glad you liked it. More Skate will be coming, don't worry.**

**Alex – Yeah, I thought it would be good if he's the only person "allowed" to call her Katie. Plus I think it suits her.**

**SassyLostie – More Skatey goodness, I hear you say? Don't worry, it will come. There will be many, many dates and outings for those two. **

**Hero Lilly – There might be more of The Triangle appearing. Maybe. If I get lots and lots of reviews. (Jack ain't giving up on Kate that easily, trust me.)**

**Also, I have a little question to ask you folks: Shall I get Jana together? I could, and I've got nearly everything set up for it, so what do you think? If you would like Jana to happen, send me a review and let me know. Incidentally, Jate will not be happening and I just broke up Sana, so that pair will not be getting back together. Just to clear up any confusion, yes I am a diehard Skater.**


	11. Comfort and Pain

**A/N: Okay, here's the next instalment for you folks. Based on the reviews I had for chapter ten, I'm going to go with Jana – though it might not last very long, as I just might be introducing a (new) character from Season Three at some point, and that character might just be a Jack love-interest.**

**Oh, okay, my arm has been twisted, I'm introducing Juliet at some point. **

**Anyway, the first part of this chapter is setting up Jana, and the second part is very Skatey, but it's not a happy part – it features swearing and domestic violence (you can't say I didn't warn you). If you get offended by swearing (by which I mean the F-word), skip James' section. **

**Disclaimer: Me no own, please don't sue.**

Ana-Lucia

I've never been a big fan of Mondays, but the last one was tough. The weekend before, I got dumped by my boyfriend, who promptly went off with another girl before having the cheek to tell me that nothing had happened between them. Then, I had to get through Monday knowing that they were together.

I wasn't completely alone, though. Jack seemed out of sorts as well, so the two of us stuck together as much as possible. We ended up sharing our troubles, and I found out that he had liked Kate for a long time, and was as upset as I was about her dating James. When the teachers dismissed us everyone went outside to wait for Shannon and everyone to arrive. When they did show up, James mentioned that his grandparents were out for the evening, and everyone decided to hang out at his house. Jack and I were invited too, but neither of us wanted to go, so we slipped away in the opposite direction as they headed off laughing and chatting.

Before they left, though, Kate ran back to talk to me.

"Ana, are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

At this point, Jack was trying very hard not to look in Kate's direction, and I was trying very hard not to slap her. "Yeah, thanks, but I'd rather not."

"Okay, if that's how you feel. I just… I don't want us to fall out because of James, that's all. I'd still like us to be friends."

"Well, guess what – I don't want to be around either of you right now. Go on, get back to the others."

"Fine. I'll see you at school tomorrow then." Kate turned then and ran back to everyone else, and I saw James slip an arm around her waist as she reached him.

As they walked away, Jack came over to me. "I'm sorry, Ana."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because of them. They shouldn't have treated you like that."

"I know they shouldn't have. But they did, and now they're together and happy, and I'm left here on the sidelines watching."

"At least you're not alone. I'm still here."

I turned to look at him, and I saw tears in his eyes. "Yeah. At least we have each other."

"C'mon, let's go and get a drink or something."

"Sure."

And we picked up our schoolbags and walked to the coffee shop on the corner. We were going to find a table inside, but the place was full of college students so we got our drinks in takeout cups and went to the park instead. Which is how we came to be sitting together on the grass, leaning against a tree and watching the ducks on the surface of the nearby pond. We sat there, just talking, for so long that we barely noticed that the light was fading. Our coffee cups lay forgotten on the grass as we shared our feelings, our pain, and later our ideas and dreams. I told him exactly how I felt about James, and told him about how I felt betrayed and abandoned by someone I thought loved me, how I hated Kate for taking him away.

And Jack told me his problems – he told me how he had liked Kate for a long time, but had never been able to pluck up the courage to talk to her about it or ask her out. He told me how, when James told us all about him and Kate, he had felt as if his world was falling apart, how he had wanted to pull Kate away from James and show her that James was wrong for her. We laughed for a moment then, when we realised that each of us wanted the exact same thing – for Kate and James to break up.

Jack

Monday was an odd day. The school part wasn't great, it was pretty awkward when James and Kate were nearby, but afterwards, when I went to the park with Ana and we just talked and kept each other company, that part was great. It's weird how we get on so well, when we first met we hardly spoke. But now, it feels like she understands me and I understand her.

And she's probably the best friend I have right now.

By the time we noticed how late it was, the sun was already setting, so I walked her home. On the way, she told me about an idea she had that might get James and Kate to break up. It was Shannon's seventeenth birthday on Saturday, and of course she would be having a big party at her house – to which we had both been invited, as well as James and Kate. Her idea was that at the party, she could get James on his own and try to get him back, and while she was doing that I would have a perfect opportunity to talk to Kate.

By the time we reached Ana's house, her quick idea had grown into a pretty decent plan. We agreed to talk some more about it later, then she went inside and I started to walk home.

Kate

After we left the college, we went back to James' house, just to hang out and watch some TV. I asked Ana if she wanted to come, but she made it perfectly clear that she wasn't interested. We spent a few hours hanging out at James' together, but then everyone started going home for dinner, and eventually it was just me and James left. His gran had left us some food for dinner in the fridge, and we were going to heat that up when my cellphone rang. The Caller ID said "Mom", so I picked up straight away.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

"Katie… where are you?" Mom sounded frightened, her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I'm at the Ford's. What's wrong, Mom?"

"Please, can you come home, Katie? Now?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Do you have your car?"

"Yeah. I'll come right now."

"Good. And hurry, Katie, please hurry."

"Okay, Mom. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I just need your help."

"Okay, I'm leaving now, I'll be there soon."

As I hung up the phone, I went over to James and put an arm around his waist. "Hey, that was Mom, she says she needs my help, so I'm gonna drive over and see what's wrong."

"You need my help with that?"

"Nah, I think it'll be fine. You stay here and get that food ready, I'll come back when I know Mom's okay."  
"You sure?"

"James, I'll be fine. Anyway, Wayne'll be at home and you know how he feels about you."  
"Yeah, on second thoughts maybe it's best if I stay here."

"Good plan. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Sure."

I kissed him quickly, then grabbed my jacket and headed outside. My car was parked on the driveway – not a new car, or a particularly fancy one, but it got me around. I can't afford a new one anyway.

It didn't take long to drive home, so I was soon pulling into our driveway and getting out of the car. As I walked onto the porch, I could see that the front door was ajar, and I could hear shouting from inside.

Well, I say shouting. It was more like Wayne's drunken yelling, at someone I assumed was Mom. I pushed the door open carefully, and saw Mom in the sitting room, crouched in a corner. I heard Wayne go into the kitchen, then crept into the room.

"Mom?"

"Katie, you're here…"

"Mom, are you okay?"

"Katie, I shouldn't have called you… get out of here."

I could see she was shaking, and there were bruises on her arms and face. "Mom, what happened? Wayne hit you again, didn't he?"  
"It was an accident, he's been drinking… he didn't mean to…"

"Why do you always do this, Mom? Why do you defend him? I know he hits you, I know he's a drunk. Stop pretending, Mom. Stop defending him."

"Katie… I'm sorry."

"What? Why?"

"I… I can't… I have to tell you something…"  
"Something about Wayne? What?"

"He's… he's not your stepfather."

"But…"

"…he's your father, Katie. Your real father."  
"No…"  
"He is, Kate."

I stepped back in shock, trying to comprehend what I'd just heard. I never heard Wayne come back from the kitchen, holding a fresh bottle of beer. I never had any warning.

I was standing in the doorway, so he had to push me out of the way to get into the room. But he was drunk, so he pushed me quite hard and I fell against the coffee table, banging my head. He somehow managed to put the bottle down, then pulled me to my feet so that his face was just inches from mine. I could smell his alcohol-tinged breath. He'd obviously got bored of hitting Mom, because he swung his fist at me, connecting with my face.

"When did you get here, eh? Did she call you?" He shouted at Mom "Did you get her here, Diane? Did you think she'd be able to help?"

I was vaguely aware of Mom talking to him. "Wayne, leave her alone. If you need someone to hit, hit me. Just please, please leave her alone."

"Shut up!" He let go of me, and I fell to the floor as he turned back to Mom. "Just shut up! She's useless. You still think she's mine, don't you? Well you're wrong, there's nothing of me in her. So shut up, okay? You can't tell me what to do."

"Wayne, please…"  
"Shut up! You stupid bitch, just shut up! You never know when to shut up."

Each time he screamed at her to shut up, he punched her again. Meanwhile, I was on the floor behind him, gathering my strength. While he was occupied, I looked for something I could use as a weapon. Looking around, I saw a geode stone on the coffee table, something my Dad had bought Mom. I glanced at Wayne quickly, and before he turned back to me I carefully got up and picked it up, getting ready to hit him with it.

But before I could, he turned back towards me and grabbed my wrist. He pried the stone from my fingers, and practically threw me against the wall. That's the last thing I remember, as when my head connected with the wall I blacked out.

James

Freckles told me she wouldn't be at home long. She was just going to make sure her Mom was all right, then come back to my house. I heated up the casserole my gran had left for us, got the plates and cutlery out, and waited for her to get back.

I waited an hour, and she wasn't back yet. I rang her cellphone, but it was turned off. I told myself she would be okay, that I should wait a bit longer. When she'd been gone two hours, I knew that something was wrong, so I left the food on the table, grabbed my car keys and drove over to Kate's house. Her car was parked in the driveway, so she was obviously still inside, but though there were lights on in the house, I couldn't hear or see Kate or her Mom when I looked through the windows. I could, however, hear the sound of a radio in the kitchen, so I went around the back of the house and looked through the window and saw Wayne sitting at the kitchen table with a beer.

I went back to the front of the house, and went in through the wide-open front door. I went into the sitting room, and the first thing I saw was Kate.

But she wasn't sitting comfortably on the sofa with her Mom, looking after her. Kate didn't see me come in. She was sprawled, unconscious, on the floor. I could see she had a black eye and bruises on her face, arms and wrists. I knelt next to her, pressing two fingers to her neck and praying that I would find a pulse.

When I felt the steady beat of her heart, I breathed a sigh of relief, then pushed the hair back from her face. I tried to wake her up, but I couldn't. I knew she was breathing, I knew she was alive, but she wouldn't wake up. So I tried to make her more comfortable, covering her with a throw from the sofa and putting a cushion under her head, then I took out my cellphone and dialled 911 for an ambulance.

When the operator told me the ambulance was on its way, I put my cellphone away and went looking for Kate's Mom. I checked the bedrooms, but found the bathroom door locked, so I knocked softly and heard Diane's shaky voice call out.

"Who's there?"

"Mrs. Jensen?"

"Who's there?"

"It's James Ford, Mrs Jensen. Can I come in?"

"Is Wayne there?"

"No ma'am. I think he's in the kitchen. Can you let me in?"

"Okay. Come in."

I heard her unlock the door, and when it opened I saw she was covered in bruises, just like Katie was, and she had a split lip and blood coming from her nose.

"Mrs Jensen, are you all right?"

"I'll be okay, thank you James. Where's Kate?"

"She's in the sitting room. She's alive, but she's unconscious. I just called an ambulance, it should be here soon."

"Good. Thank you."

I helped Kate's Mom to the sitting room, and left her sitting on the floor next to Kate, looking after her. Then, I went back to the corridor and stood for a moment in front of the closed kitchen door. I took a couple of deep breaths, then slowly opened the door. Wayne was still sitting at the table drinking.

"Jensen."

As I said his name, Wayne turned around to face me rather unsteadily. "Ford. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure Kate was all right."

"Of course you did. Everyone's always so fucking worried about bloody Kate. Might've guessed you'd show up, she practically lives with you."

"Do you know why?"

"Do I know why what?"

"Do you know why Kate spends so much time at my house?"

"Y'know, I've got no fucking idea."

"Because she feels safe when she's with me. Because this is supposed to be her home, and she doesn't feel safe here. Because the more time she spends here, the more likely it is that you'll hurt here. She's lying unconscious and covered in bruises in the other room, and I have a feeling that might be your fault."

Wayne didn't answer that. He just laughed. "Oh, she's got herself quite the protector in you, ain't she, Ford?"

"Yes. She has." I didn't give him a chance to say or do anything, I just punched him. I punched him so hard he fell off the stool he was sitting on. And I kept hitting. He was lying on the linoleum floor of the kitchen, trying to block me, but I'm younger, stronger, and trained in kickboxing. And, well, I was stone-cold sober and he was extremely drunk.

When I stopped, I had him pinned on the floor and looked down at him. I saw him for what he was: a pathetic, useless drunk who wasn't worth the effort. Then, I got up and walked away.

I got back to the sitting room to find that the ambulance had arrived, and the paramedics were busy getting Katie onto a stretcher and looking after her Mom. There wasn't enough room in the ambulance for me, so when they took them both to the ER, I followed in my car. The whole journey to the hospital, I was praying that Katie would be all right.

**A/N: Will Kate be OK? Will Jack and Ana-Lucia get together? What will happen at Shannon's birthday party? Find out all this and possibly more in the next chapters.**

**Next chapter will be with James and Kate at the hospital, and either chapter 13 or 14 will be Shannon's party.**


	12. Aftermath

**A/N: Well, Kate's in hospital, and soon you'll find out if she'll be okay. In other news, Wayne has something to say to James after the events of last night. **

**Also, because I needed a hospital to look after Kate, I transplanted County General (the hospital in the show "ER") to Los Angeles. Which is why Sam, Neela and Luka all get cameos in this chapter. No particular reason, it's just that I love ER almost as much as I love Lost. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kate, Sawyer or anything else from Lost. In similar vein, I don't own Sam, Neela, Luka, or County General Hospital. **

James

When I got to the ER, the receptionist told me Katie had been taken straight to a treatment room. I was about to go in when a nurse tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me? Can I help you?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm looking for my girlfriend Kate…. Katherine Austen, is she in there?"

"She is. The doctors are seeing to her now."  
"Can I go in?"

"Well, I don't know, it should be okay. Wait here for a moment."

The nurse went into the treatment room, speaking briefly to one of the doctors before she came back to me. "You can come in. But try to stay out of their way, okay?" She smiled at me as she held the door open.

"Thanks, love. I appreciate this." As I walked in, I turned back for a moment. "Nurse… what's your name?"

"Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam."

"Thank you, Sam. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I'm just doing my job. Now go on, get in there."

When I saw Katie lying there surrounded by people, I felt like I couldn't breathe. She was just lying there, not responding to anything anyone said, not moving. Then the doctor looking after her – a tall, dark-haired guy – noticed me standing there.

"Are you family?"

"Uh, no, I'm her boyfriend. How is she?"

"We think there's some internal bleeding, and she'll be having surgery soon to fix that. Is there anyone she would want here?"

"I don't know… I should call her friends. How's her mom, they were brought in together."

"I don't know right now, if you ask at the desk someone will tell you."

I started to say "Thanks", but just then a woman in blue scrubs arrived. I vaguely heard what happened, but I wasn't paying attention, I just couldn't take my eyes off Katie.

"Dr Rasgotra, good, is the OR ready?"

"It is. Is she stable enough to move?"

"She should be. There doesn't seem to be any brain damage, but she's bleeding internally."

"Any family here?"

"Her mother was injured as well, she's being treated, and her boyfriend is here."  
"Okay, let's get her up to the OR."

They started to move Kate out, heading for the lifts, and the nurse who had helped me before led me out and showed me where the payphones were, before she hurried off to her other patients. I found some quarters in my pocket and tried to decide who to phone first. My first thought was to call Ana, so I took a deep breath for courage and dialled her number.

"Hello?"

"Ana, it's me."

"James? Why are you calling me? And where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital… it's Kate, she's hurt."

"What? What happened?"

"It was her stepdad. He was drunk, he beat her up really bad. And her mom too."

"Oh God, is she okay?"

"The doctor said she's bleeding internally. They've taken her to surgery."

"Oh. Have you called the others yet?"

"Not yet, I called you first."

"Do you want me to come down there?"

"Uh… I dunno, Ana… if you want to, sure."

"I'll just leave a note for Mom, I'll be down as soon as I can. Do you want me to call anyone for you?"

"Actually, could you let Jack and everyone know for me? I'd do it myself, but my head's all over the place right now. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. I'll ring everyone and come down to see you afterwards."

"Thanks Ana. I really need this."

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon."

When I hung up the phone, I asked the desk receptionist where Kate had been taken, and spent the whole duration of her operation sitting outside the OR, all the time praying that she would be okay. Ana showed up about an hour later, and I vaguely remember her putting a plastic cup of horrible-tasting coffee in my hands. After her, the others showed up – Jack and Claire arrived with Ana, Charlie abandoned his band practice to get to the hospital, Shannon showed up without Boone in tow, but with this guy she'd met at the college called Sayid instead.

They all sat with me to wait, and I told them what the doctor had told me, but then there was nothing to do but wait – so they went to sit in the hospital canteen to wait. Ana volunteered to stay with me, but I told her to stay with the others. I didn't need any company. She seemed reluctant to go, but she did.

Not too long after they had gone, Kate's mom came up to the OR and sat down next to me. They'd cleaned her up a lot, but she had one arm in a sling and a bit of tape over the bridge of her nose.

"Hello, James."

"Mrs. Jensen."

"Oh, call me Diane, please."

"Are you okay?"

"They had to re-set my nose, and he broke my wrist, but otherwise it's just cuts and bruises. What about Kate? I asked, but they wouldn't tell me anything."

"She was bleeding inside, that's why she's in surgery."

"How long has it been?"

"What time is it?"

"Uh… almost midnight."

"She went in at about ten-thirty."

"Oh."

We sat outside together for another few minutes, then the doors of the OR opened and Kate was wheeled out on a trolley. As they took her to a ward to recover, the surgeon came over, and I saw it was the same woman I'd seen arriving in the ER treatment room.

"Excuse me, are you Mrs Jensen?" She asked Diane.

"Yes, yes I am."

"I'm Dr Rasgotra, I operated on your daughter. I just wanted you to know that Katherine's operation was a success, and we managed to stop the bleeding. She's been taken to recovery."

"When can I see her?"

"I'll take you to her now, but she's still anaethetised, so she won't wake up for a few hours yet."

"Thank you, doctor."

I followed them to Kate's room, and when I knew that she was being looked after I left Diane sitting with her and went to find Ana and the others. I explained that she was out of surgery, but probably wouldn't wake up for a while. After that, they decided to go home but I had to stay. While my Katie was here, I couldn't go home.

The doctors were keeping Diane in overnight for observation, so while she was on a ward I stayed with Katie. As I sat with her, I looked at her lying there covered in fading bruises and bandages, and I knew that I loved her more than anything in the world. I knew that whatever I had to do for her to be all right, I would do it. She's been my best friend for so long, and our time as a couple has been so short, that I cannot imagine losing her now.

I sat with her all night, only leaving for a few hours when Diane insisted I go to school, if only so I could let the school know about Katie being in hospital. The headteacher Mr Linus let me take a few days off, so as soon as I had picked up the assignments I needed I was headed straight back to the hospital. I parked my car in the carpark in front of the hospital, and as I was about to go in I felt someone grab me and pull me off to one side, pushing me against the nearest wall.

"What are you doing here, Ford?"

"Visiting Kate, _Wayne_."

"I take it she's ok, then."

"She's alive, no thanks to you. She had surgery last night."

"Have you spoken to any cops recently, Ford?"

"What the hell?"

"Have you spoken to any cops? About last night, idiot."

"No. Not yet. They're waiting for Kate to wake up, then they'll take her statement when she's well enough. And when she tells them what you did, they'll drag you off to jail."

"What about when I tell them what you did, Ford? I've got some nasty bruises that you gave me. Wonder what they'll say to that, eh?"

"Get off me."

"Fine. I've got places to be anyway. But I'm warning you, you say anything to the cops and you'll be in big trouble. Understood?"

"Yeah, I understand. I know exactly what you are: a dirty stinking coward. You don't even scare a skinny seventeen year old kid like me, no wonder you're a drunk."

On reflection, I probably shouldn't've provoked him like that. The first punch took me by surprise, but after that I was ready for him, and I was able to block him. Then, someone pulled him off of me. When I got a chance to see the person, it was the same ER doctor who had helped Katie last night.

" Hey, are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Well, that was quite a punch, so I think I should check you over anyway."

"I guess so."

"Come on, I'll get you inside." The doctor called over to a nearby security guard, who was holding Wayne. "I'm going to get this kid checked over, can you get rid of _him_ for me?"

The security guard nodded and dragged Wayne away. "Certainly, Dr Kovac." Then I went inside, rubbing the place where Wayne had punched me. The doctor got me into a cubicle and checked that I wasn't concussed or anything. The punch had split my lip, so he put a couple of stitches in and let me go. While he was doing that, he asked me about Wayne – apparently he remembered me from the treatment room last night, and he asked about Kate.

When he released me – and pointed me in the direction of the lifts – I belatedly headed to Kate's room. When I got there, I opened the door to find Kate, though still lying in bed, awake and reading a magazine.

"Katie…"

She smiled weakly when she saw me "James, where've you been?"

"I went into school to tell them you wouldn't be in for a while, and Wayne jumped me when I was on my way in."

"Is that where you got the bruise?"

"Yeah, some doctor patched me up right after he pulled Wayne off me. Same guy who looked after you in the ER, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So how do you feel, Freckles?"

"Honestly? Terrible. When I woke up, this doctor came to see me and explained what happened, and about the surgery. They said I'll probably have some really bad headaches for a while, and I'll need a few days bed rest before they discharge me."

"That's good. Could've been a lot worse."

"I know. I guess I was lucky that you showed up to call the ambulance when you did."  
"Only doin' my job, princess. Did you see your mom yet?"

"Yeah, she came to see me before they discharged her. She's bringing me some clothes and things later on."

"Everyone came to see you, last night. I rang Ana, and she let everyone know, and they all showed up. But you were asleep, so you wouldn't've known."

"It's okay. They came, that's all that matters."

"Yeah." I sat down on the edge of her hospital bed. "Freckles, last night, while you were in surgery and afterwards, waiting for you to wake up, it was so hard. I realised something last night, Katie."

"What?"

"I love you so much. Last night was so tough, I thought I might lose you. And I made a promise to myself that no matter what, I would always look after you and protect you."

"James, I love you too. Thank you for being there for me. I know I have Mom, but no-one's ever been there for me like you have. Thank you for being there. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You don't need to know, Katie. You'll never be without me."

**A/N: And some quick review replies….**

**Freckles1230 – just you wait and see… I've got two parties planned out for definite, and there might be more. /end enigmatic.**

**Nikki2513 – thanks! Jana will be happening, definitely. Probably around chapter 13/14.**

**SassyLostie – I read your story, but I put my comments in reviews so you've probably read them by now. Hopefully you will like this chapter, and I had an idea for how Wayne could "get off" and not be punished. **

**Alex – thanks! Don't worry, Skate will not (ever) be breaking up, not in my story. I haven't quite decided what will happen with Shannon's birthday yet, but a decision regarding that will be made next chapter. Someone's plans will have to be… adjusted. Heh. /end enigmatic.**


	13. The Obligatory Reaction Shot

Jack

When I got that call from Ana, I was watching TV with Mom, Dad and Claire. I'd only left Ana at her house a couple of hours before, and I was curious as to why she was calling.

Then she told me what had happened to Kate.

The first time, her words didn't sink in, so I had to ask her to repeat what she'd said.

"Jack, Kate's in the hospital. Her stepdad beat her up, and she's having surgery. I'm on my way there now, do you want me come and pick you up?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…"  
"Okay, I'm near your place now, I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay."

I hung up the phone and sat down again. I must have looked worried, because Mom looked over and asked what was wrong.

"Kate's in the hospital. She got beaten up, now she's in surgery."  
"Oh no, and she's such a nice girl as well. Do you want me to drive you over there?"

"Uh, no, Ana's on her way, she's going to give me a lift."

"All right then dear. Give Kate my love, when you see her."

"Sure. Claire, do you want to come? I'm sure Ana won't mind."

"Oh, um, okay. Yeah. I'll just get my coat." Claire quickly got up and ran upstairs. By the time she got back Ana had arrived, so the three of us got into her car. I barely noticed as she sped towards the hospital, I was in shock. Kate's one of my best friends, I never thought something like this could happen. She's complained about her stepdad to us plenty of times, but I never thought he was capable of something like this. I knew James wouldn't be able to protect her, if only he'd looked after her properly she wouldn't be having surgery now. Part of me was so furious at James for letting her get hurt, and I knew I'd have to fight not to punch him when I saw him.

I'm so confused at the moment. I've liked Kate for so long, spent so long being jealous of any guy who went out with her, but now she's with James and there's no way she'll break up with him, and at the same time Ana and I are getting really close, and… I don't know what I think any more.

When we got to the hospital, Ana parked her car while Claire and I hurried inside. We asked at the reception desk, and were told which operating room Kate was in. Then Ana rejoined us and we went to find Kate.

What we found was James sitting outside the OR, staring at the doors as if he could see Kate through them. Ana ran over to him first, as soon as we saw him… and as she hugged him briefly I felt a tiny, fleeting stab of jealousy, before remembering that none of that was important, and that we should all be thinking about Kate.

Ana-Lucia

It's not like I was expecting James to call that night, I was actually determined not to think about him, but when the phone rang and I heard his voice, telling me that Kate was in hospital having emergency surgery, I forgot all of that and almost forgot that we'd broken up.

He asked me to call everyone else, so as soon as I hung up the phone I grabbed my address book and called Charlie, Shannon, Hurley and Jack. Hurley said he couldn't come to the hospital just then, because of some family thing, but Charlie and Shannon said they'd meet me there as soon as they could. I hesitated a bit before ringing Jack, but I figured that because he obviously cared for Kate a lot, he would want to know. I ended up picking him and Claire up on my way to the hospital.

When we got there, and after I'd parked my car, we hurried up to the OR, where James was sitting outside waiting. I ran down the corridor to him, hugging him before I sat down.

"Are you okay, James?"

"What?" He looked up at me, as if surprised to see me. "Oh, Ana, you got here… yeah, I'm fine…"

"Have you heard anything, about Kate? Will she be okay?"

"No-one's told me anything since they took her in. They said something about internal bleeding, but I dunno, I'm not a bloody doctor."

"She will be okay, James. I'm sure she will. The doctors know what they're doing."

"I know they know what they're doing, but even then, people still die during surgery." He looked at me. "I can't lose her, Ana. Not now. We've been through so much together, I can't lose her now."

"Hey, hey, come on… of course you won't lose her. Kate's tough, yeah? She'll get through this." I put my arm around his shoulders, letting him lean against me. I caught a glimpse of his face, and saw his eyes were full of tears.

"I hope you're right, Ana. I really hope you're right."

We sat like that for a while, as Jack and Claire found seats next to us. Shannon was next to show up, and though we all expected to see that loser Boone tagging along behind her, we were surprised to see that the guy with her was Sayid, who she'd met outside the college earlier.

"Hey, Shannon."

"Hi. How long has Kate been in there?"

James spoke without looking at her. "Just over an hour, now."

"Well, I wish they'd hurry up and get her fixed, already."

When she said that, we all turned and stared at her in disbelief, even Claire and Sayid who didn't know her that well. Trust Shannon to always say the wrong thing.

"Oh, come _on_, guys, lighten up."

That didn't exactly make things better, and Shannon threw up her hands in despair.

"Fine. Well, it's late, and I really need a coffee. Anyone else want one?"

"Er, yeah, I could do with one, actually Shan. And I think James could do with one too."

"Sure. Jack, how about you?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks."

"Okay. I'll be back soon."

With that, Shannon turned and headed back towards the vending machines. While she was getting drinks, the rest of us sat together in what ended up as pretty awkward silence. At least when Shannon got back with the drinks we could talk about how awful the coffee in hospital vending-machines was. I put a cup into James' hands, and he emptied the cup in just a couple of gulps before he went back to staring at the door of the OR. Then, he looked up at the rest of us.

"Look, guys, could you leave me alone for a bit? I need to be by myself right now."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Chica. Please, go, all of you."

"Okay. We'll go and hang out in the cafeteria for a bit. Let us know when Kate comes out."

"I will."

"Come on, everyone. Let's go."

We ended up sitting around a long table in the cafeteria. We met Charlie on the way, so I filled him in on what we knew and he decided to join us.

So, Charlie ended up talking quietly to Claire, and Shannon was telling Sayid some more about our little group, which left Jack and I alone at the other end of the table.

"Jack, I need to talk to you."

"What is it, Ana?"  
"I don't know how to say this…"

"It's okay, take your time."

"Uh, since I broke up with James, you've been a great friend to me. You've really helped me to sort myself out."

"Is that it?"

"No, there's something else. I think… I think…"

"What?"  
"I'm sorry, Jack, I can't do this…"

I pushed my chair back and ran away from the table, heading for the restrooms. I heard Jack call out "Ana! Ana, wait!", but I didn't turn around or even stop until I reached the restrooms. I locked myself in a cubicle and sat there crying and thinking how stupid I was to think I could get over James so easily. I like Jack, he's a great guy and he's been a wonderful friend to me, but when James and I started going out it felt like we really had something special.

I guess part of me hasn't quite accepted our break-up yet. And I know, in my heart, that I can't have any kind of relationship with Jack until I've sorted things out properly.

Damn, how did I get into this mess?


	14. Get Well Soon, Katie

**A/N: Okay, I have a confession to make. I know I said chapter 14 would be Shannon's birthday party, but I've had to push it back to chapter 15 instead. This chapter is Kate coming out of hospital. As always, please give me a review when you're done reading, they are much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: Am I the owner of Lost? No, no I am not. Darn. Don't sue, I derive no profit from this at all.**

Shannon

After James decided he didn't want us around, we camped out in the hospital cafeteria to wait for news. The others were talking quietly, and I was thinking about my birthday party on Saturday. Kate had been helping me plan it, and it didn't feel right for me to go ahead with the party without her there.

We spent about half an hour in the cafeteria, when James came over to our table and announced that Kate was out of the OR, but was unlikely to wake up very soon. He said he was going to stay, but that we could go home if we wanted. Ana had come back from the restrooms red-eyed and tearstained, but she seemed to be okay and when Charlie, Sayid and I left she was heading for her car with Jack and Claire.

I dropped Charlie off at his house, then took Sayid home, and it was when I finally arrived home that I decided something: I would wait until Kate was feeling better before having my party. After all, it's more important for _all_ my friends to be there.

When I got home, there was a note waiting for me, saying that Dad and Sabrina had gone out and would be back late. Which meant that the only person in the house was Boone, who was in the sitting room watching TV.

"Where've you been, Shan?"

"Like you care."

"Actually, I do care. Your dad was wondering where you'd gone."

"I was at the hospital, if you really want to know."  
"The hospital? Why?"  
"Didn't anyone tell you? Kate got beaten up really badly by her stepdad. Ana called me, so I went down there."

"No, no-one told me. Is she going to be okay?"  
"She's out of surgery, they'll know more when she wakes up."

"Oh."

"Anything else? Or are you done with the third degree?"

"I'm done."

"Okay, well, I'll be in my room if you need anything."

Kate

I've never been a fan of hospitals. I suppose I was lucky that Wayne didn't do too much damage, they said they wanted me to stay in for a couple of days before I went home. Something about "keeping me in for observation", I think. But I wouldn't have gone home anyway, with Wayne still there.

After I woke up, after the operation, some cops came to talk to me and Mom about what Wayne had done to us. We had to give statements, and because he's a family member they asked us if we wanted to press charges. I had to think about it, but I knew I couldn't let him get away with what he'd done. James had had to stay outside my hospital room while the cops were talking to me, but as soon as they'd gone he came back and sat next to my bed.

"So, Freckles, what's happening with Wayne?"

"I decided to press charges. He mustn't get away with what he did. He's hurt me and Mom so much, he should be punished."

"Damn right he should."  
"James…"

"Sorry, princess. But I'm glad, you made the right decision."

"I hope so."

Just then, a nurse came in to check me over, and she said that I'd probably be able to go home earlier than they had thought. She even went to ask a doctor, who gave me and Mom a very serious talk about how I had to stay in bed for at least two days, then said if I would definitely get lots of rest, he would discharge me right then.

We'd already decided that I would stay with James to recuperate, so when I was ready he and Mom took me down to the car, and James drove us both to his house. As the car pulled into the driveway, I saw at least one person looking out through a gap in the curtains, before the curtains were suddenly pulled shut. James helped me out of the car, then got my bag while Mom and I walked to the door. He hurried ahead to open the door for us, shepherding us in the direction of the living room.

As I stepped into the room, someone turned the light on, and I saw all my friends waiting there, with a homemade banner saying "Get Well Soon, Kate", and lots of bunches of flowers and cards. There was even a cake. I looked around the room, trying to take everything in, and felt tears welling up.

James

While Freckles had been talking to the police, and then the doctor, I'd been pretty busy, calling Shannon, Charlie and Hurley to organise a surprise for her when she got to my place. Shannon had collected a whole pile of "Get Well Soon" cards from people at school, and a few bouquets as well, so she brought them – as well as bossing everyone else around. Hurley meanwhile had made a cake and was in charge of the food for the party, and Charlie had enlisted Claire's help with making the banner.

When Katie, helped by her mom, stepped into the room the lights went on and she saw everything ready to welcome her home, I saw she was about to burst into tears and quickly moved to her side.

I whispered to her "Hey, Freckles, what's wrong?"  
"Nothing. It's just, this is lovely. It's lovely."

"And it's all for you, Katie. So you're not going to cry, right?"

"If I do, they'll be tears of happiness."  
"I can deal with that. Come on, let's get you sitting down."

I helped Katie into a reclining chair nearby, and soon she was surrounded by the others, everyone wanting to know how she was. She looked up at me pleadingly, and I stepped in and pushed everyone away so she had some space.

I took Katie's bag up to the spare room then, and when I got back she was smiling and talking to Shannon while everyone else chatted. I smiled when I saw that, because she was getting some colour back in her cheeks and looked much healthier now she was out of hospital. For the rest of the party, I let Katie enjoy being looked after by her friends and sat off to one side with Diane. I asked her where she was going to stay, and she told me that Wayne had been arrested by the police earlier that day, so she'd be staying at home.

"Diane, are you sure you'll be okay by yourself? You can stay here if you like."

"I'll be fine. I wasn't that badly hurt, and I'd rather stay at home. Katie's just better off here, with you."

"I'll take care of her."

"I know you will."

"She'll be okay, you know."

Diane turned to face me. "I know she will. With you at her side, of course she will."

"You know, that means a lot to me."

"What does?"

"That you trust me. Thanks for that."

Shannon

It was great to see Kate smiling after she got back from the hospital. It meant she would be okay. After James had got everyone to stop crowding her, I sat down in the chair next to her recliner.

"Hey, Shan. What've I missed?"

"Ah, not much. It's been pretty boring actually."

"Whoa, your party's on Saturday, isn't it?"  
"Well, I was thinking 'bout that. Cos you're still getting better, I thought about having my party next week instead. So you can be there."

"No way, Shannon. I wasn't that badly hurt, and I've got a few days before Saturday to get better. You're not postponing it just for me."

"Are… are you sure? I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'm sure, Shan."

Then James came over, looking worried. "What are you up to, Katie?"

"Nothing!" He looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "Seriously, don't worry. I was just telling Shannon not to postpone her party for my sake."

The worried expression returned to his face, and his frown deepened. "Are you sure you're up to going to a party."

"Sheesh, you're as bad as each other. I've got plenty of time before then to get better. And if it makes you two feel better, I'll take it easy for the party. I don't know, maybe I'll spend the whole afternoon on a sun lounger by the pool. Satisfied?"

"Yeah, fine."

James hesitated for a moment before answering. "I guess… that would be okay."

"Good, I'm glad we cleared that one up."

Kate

Soon after that, the others had to go home, and then James took me upstairs and I rested on the bed while he put my clothes and things away. When he was done, he sat on the bed next to me.

"You feeling okay, Freckles?"

"Yeah, actually I feel much better."  
"I'm glad."

"Thanks for letting me stay here. And for looking after me."

"I'm just doing my job, princess."

"No, you don't have to. But I'm glad that you do."  
"It's not a problem for me." Then he gently kissed me. "I like being able to look after you."

"I like being looked after."

"Are you sure about the party this weekend?"  
"I'm sure. I'll be fine. And, you know, the fresh air will probably do me good."  
"Okay then. But you do know that I'm going to have to do practically everything for you, right?"

"I thought you'd say that. I don't mind."

We kissed again, and then I realised how tired I was, so I decided to have a nap. The last thing I noticed before going to sleep was James holding me in his arms. I'm not sure how long I was asleep for, but when I woke up he was still holding me, though he'd fallen asleep himself.


	15. Happy Birthday, Shannon

**A/N: Party Time! Well, I finally got around to finishing the chapter for Shannon's Birthday. This chapter features Shayid, Skate, Jana and a fight. Also, there is some swearing in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, I merely like to play with them for my own amusement.**

Shannon

The rest of the week, people at school kept coming up to me and asking me to tell Kate to get well soon. It wasn't just me, obviously, the others got the same thing. Except James, of course – he's been given time off school to look after her. I guess that's what you get when you're one of the best students in school. It was weird at lunchtimes, though, because Kate and I usually sit together, even though I'm a junior and she's a senior we're still best friends. The guys were around, though, and I went to James' to visit Kate every day after school, but it just wasn't the same.

By Friday, she was much better, to the extent that she was able to persuade James to go into school for a few hours. When I arrived after school, she was sitting out in the garden of the Fords' house, trying to get started catching up on her missed schoolwork. I think she was using me as an excuse not to work, though. As soon as I got there she put her books to one side and we started talking about my birthday. We started planning it months ago, eventually deciding on a very select pool party at my house. Dad offered me a caterer and a proper meal, but we wanted a more relaxed atmosphere, so there'll just be a barbeque.

"Shan, do you remember when we started planning this party?"

"Yeah, sure. Why?"

"Oh, it's silly, really… it's just, that was when I told you how I felt about James, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. And when I started trying to get you two together, of course. Why did you bring it up?"

"I was just thinking that back then, I had no idea that by the time your party actually happened, we'd be a couple. 'Course, back then everyone thought he and Ana-Lucia were made for each other."

"Not me. I never thought they'd last."

"You were about the only one."

The next day, I woke up quite late, and when I went downstairs for breakfast my Dad was waiting for me in the kitchen, with a small pile of presents on the table.

"Morning, dear. How's the birthday girl feeling?"

"Good, thanks, Daddy."

"Excited about your party?"

"Of course."

"Well, go on then. Open your presents."

When I opened the parcels, I found a pretty silver photo frame from Boone, some book on fashion from Sabrina, and a beautiful gold locket from Dad.

"Dad, this is beautiful, thank you so much…"

"It belonged to your mother. I thought she would want you to have it."

"It's lovely."

After breakfast, I drove to Sayid's house, and we went for a walk along the beach. We stopped in a secluded part of the beach, where Sayid gave me his present – a handmade bracelet decorated with tiny seashells.

"Sayid, this is lovely, thank you. Where did you find it?"

"Right here. I made it myself, with shells gathered from this very beach."  
"Wow… no-one's ever done anything like that for me before."

"I thought it would be better than something bought from a store. More personal, yes?"

"Yes, definitely." I was standing on a beautiful beach, on a wonderful California day, facing a great guy, and I suddenly knew exactly what I had to do. I took his face in my hands, moved closer to him, and slowly kissed him.

When we broke the kiss, he murmured. "I was not expecting that reaction."

"I really like you, Sayid. You're not like any of the other guys I've been out with."

"I like you too, Shannon. But… you are a lot younger than me."

"I'm seventeen, I'm not that much younger. Is it a problem?"

"It is not a problem for me. But if you think there is a problem, we should end this now."

I answered him by kissing him again, quickly. "Do you think I have any problems with this?"

"No, I do not think so."

"Okay then."

We walked back along the beach to where my car was parked, only this time we held hands and stopped to kiss a few more times along the way. I drove back home, and we went out to the garden. We were just sitting by the pool, talking and minding our own business, when my goddamn creepy stepbrother walks over to us.

"Shannon, can I have a word?"

"Sure, Boone."

"In private."

"Boone, anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Sayid."

"Shannon, I would much rather speak to you in private."

"Eugh. Fine." I got up from my sunlounger, and followed him to a spot near the house. "Well? What is it?"

"What the hell do you think you're playing at with Sayid, Shannon? He's almost ten years older than you."  
"Why do you care who I date, Boone? It's none of your business."

"I worry about you, Shan. You run around after older guys all the time, and I'm afraid you're going to get hurt one of these days. Seriously hurt."

"I can look out for myself, Boone. You might think I'm just another blonde airhead, but I'm not. I don't need your protection or your approval. You're just a loser with a crush on his own stepsister, and do you _know_ how creepy that makes you?"

"If it wasn't for me, you never even would have _met _Sayid."

"So what? I did meet him, I like him, and if I want to go out with him, then I will."

"Shannon, he's not right for you. He's not good enough for you. None of your boyfriends have ever been good enough for you."

"_What?_"

"You know why I follow you around, stare at you, get jealous of your boyfriends?"

"Why?"

"I'm in love with you, Shan. I tried to stop, but I can't help it. I'm so sorry…"  
"Get away from me."

"Shan…"

"No, Boone, seriously, I thought you were a bit weird, I learnt to put up with the staring, but I never thought you were that creepy."

"Please, let me explain…"

"NO, Boone! I don't even want to be around you right now, just get the hell away from me. And you had better not show up at my party later." I turned away from him then walked slowly back to Sayid, taking deep breaths to keep myself from screaming.

I sat down on the sunlounger. Sayid reached over and squeezed my hand. "Is everything all right, Shannon?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine."

"Your discussion with your brother seemed very heated."

"He's my stepbrother, not my brother. And right now, I am so glad of that, because it means I'm not actually related to that freak. He's obsessed with me, and I don't have any patience left for him."

"Do not worry, Shannon. I will help you deal with him."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I need to do this for myself."  
"Well, if you need my help, I will always be there for you."

"I know."

James

I let Katie sleep a bit longer than usual on Saturday morning, so that she wouldn't get too tired at the party, but by half-past twelve she was up and ready to go.

"James? You ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute."

"Hurry up." She called up to me. "_I'm_ the one who's supposed to be the recovering patient, and _I'm_ ready."

"All right, Freckles, I'm comin'."

We took my car over to Sticks' place, and when we arrived at about one in the afternoon the driveway of the house had a lot of other cars. When we got to the garden, with the pool, we found out who was invited to this select little gathering: Hurley, Libby, Charlie, Desmond, Penny Widmore, Ana-Lucia, Jack and Claire, plus Heidi, Raquel, Kelly and Ben, friends of Sticks' in junior year.

Everyone had brought a gift for Sticks' seein' as it was her seventeenth, so we left our contributions on a table that had been set up, then I found a free sunlounger for Katie. She'd brought quite a big bag, with a book, magazine and walkman inside it – just in case she got bored of sitting around watching everyone else, she said.

As it happens, Katie didn't have time for any of that, as the "lying on a sunlounger all afternoon" plan sorta fell through. Apparently she'd had enough time to recover, and she spent most of the time splashing around in the pool with the rest of us.

When the food was almost ready we all got out of the pool and dried ourselves off, before finding places to sit and wait. While we were waiting, Katie asked me to get her some water, so I got up and went to the kitchen. At the time, I didn't know why, but Ana-Lucia followed me. I figured she wanted a drink as well.

I got the water without any hassle, but when I tried to leave the kitchen Ana was standing in front of the door, blocking it.

"Chica, what the hell are ya doing? Move."

"James, I need to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Why did you dump me so suddenly? What went wrong between us?"

"Do you _really_ want to know?"

"Yeah."  
"Nothing went wrong between us, I just finally accepted the fact that I have feelings for Katie. Anything else?"

"What's so great about her, James? Why does every guy seem to want to go out with Kate Austen?"

"You wouldn't understand, Chica."

"Wouldn't I?"

"No, ya wouldn't. It's a guy thing."

"Fine."

As I was talking to Ana, I looked out of the window at where Katie was sitting. So I saw Jack walk over and sit down next to her. I saw him talk to her. And I saw what he did next.

Kate

While James was in the kitchen, Jack came over to talk to me, sitting in the chair next to mine.

"Hey, Kate."

"Jack."

"How are you feeling?"

"Good, actually. I should be back at school on Monday."

"That's good."

"Was there something you wanted?"

"Uh, yeah… Kate, for a long time now I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

"Jack, what are you saying?"

"I really like you, Kate. I _really_ like you."  
"Uh, Jack, I think you're a great guy, but I'm going out with James. I'm happy with James. I don't want a new relationship."

"How do you know? If you and I were a couple, you might be happier than you are with James."

"I'm sorry, Jack, it's just not going to happen. I'm sure there's some other girl better suited to you. You'll find her one day."

I tried to dissuade Jack, but I don't think it worked, because just then he reached across, pulled me closer to him and kissed me. At first, I was in such a state of shock that I didn't know quite what was happening, so I only actually realised when James was pulling Jack away from me.

"James…" I tried to stop him, but he was too angry to stop, hitting Jack again and again.

"What the hell was that, Shepard? What the fuck do you think you're doing, kissing my girlfriend?"  
"Calm down, James… I can explain…"

"I don't take orders from the likes of you, Shepard." James looked over at me. "Katie, did you want him to kiss you?"

"Uh, no… I guess…"

"What happened, Katie?"  
"He came over, talking about how much he liked me, about how he wanted to go out with me…"

"I've heard enough, Freckles." And he started hitting Jack again. Jack tried to hit back, even landing a couple of punches, but James has been kickboxing for years and had the advantage. By now, the others had gathered around to watch.

When it looked like they weren't going to stop fighting on their own, Sayid and Desmond pulled them apart, Sayid holding Jack and Desmond keeping a firm grip on James.

They both struggled for a few seconds, but then gave up and resorted to glaring at each other. Desmond was the first to speak. "Now, does someone want ta say what tha' was about, brother?"

James' reply was practically a snarl, spat out in Jack's direction. "He tried it on with Kate."

"Jack, brother, is that true?"

"Yes. But she'd be better off with me, I know she would."

"Kate? Did you encourage Jack at all?"

"No! He just.. kissed me."

"Okay, now James, you're ta leave Jack alone. Jack, you're ta stay away from Kate. She's nae interested, brother. Do ya both understand?"

James and Jack were both silent at first, but when Desmond looked pointedly at them they both reluctantly nodded.

"Okay. Can we let the two of you go?"

They nodded again.

"Good. Now, try and sort this out between yourselves, without killing each other."

Then Desmond released James, who rushed straight to my side, and Sayid let go of Jack, who shot one last glance in my direction, then stalked away.

The first thing James did when he reached me was to kiss me.

"Hey, Cowboy, where did that come from?"

"He tried to take you away from me, Katie. No-one gets away with that unharmed."

Ana-Lucia

I was the only person who ran after Jack as he walked away from James and Kate.

"Jack! Wait for me!"

He turned around. "What is it, Ana?"

"Wait. I need to talk to you."

"Fine, what about?"

We stopped in a corner of the garden. "Do you remember when we were at the hospital? I was going to tell you something, but I couldn't?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, I can tell you now. I worked everything out."

"Okay, what did you want to say?"  
"I'm falling for you, Jack. You've been such a great friend recently, and we've got so close, that I'm falling in love with you. And please, please tell me you feel the same."

"Ana… I don't know what to say…"

I moved closer to him, so close we were almost touching. I looked up at him, and kissed him. I felt gratifyed when I felt him start to kiss me back. When the kiss eventually broke, I looked up and murmured "So, you do feel the same way?"

"I'm not sure… I think I do, I know I like you, Ana. But yes, yes I feel the same way."

"Thank you" I said as I felt tears run down my cheeks.

We ended up sitting on a bench in our little secluded corner, with our arms around each other, talking about how much of a mess we'd managed to make of our lives.


	16. Dilemma

**A/N: Okay, sorry this has taken so long, but I have finally managed to get another chapter up. I'm giving the Skate/Shayid a bit of a rest, but they'll be back, don't worry. This chapter is a little bit of Chaire, a hint of Jacket (yes, you read that right), and some Jana. **

**Disclaimer: Anyone who is under the impression I own these characters is sorely, sorely mistaken. I don't.**

**Read and Review, people, read and review. All reviews are much appreciated.**

Claire

For my first party since I arrived in the States, Shannon's birthday party was amazing. Her house is huge, with a big swimming pool outside, and everything looked so beautiful. The party was fun, mostly we just spent our time messing around in the pool. Her dad had organised a barbeque for us, which was nice, but the afternoon was spoilt a bit when Jack tried to kiss Kate even though she didn't want to, and James saw what happened and they ended up fighting until Desmond and Shannon's new boyfriend Sayid pulled them off each other. Desmond was able to calm them down, but after that Jack just disappeared and James stuck very close to Kate for the rest of the party. I noticed Ana-Lucia run after Jack, but at the time I didn't really think about it. Besides, I was enjoying myself and in the middle of a nice talk with Charlie, and I thought Jack could take care of himself.

Anyway, after the fight no-one stayed for long – by the time it started getting dark the only people left were me, Jack, Ana-Lucia, Charlie, and Sayid. We picked up our things, said goodbye to Shannon and left. Well, Sayid stayed for a bit longer, but Ana and Charlie needed a lift home so Jack offered to drop them off on our way. They accepted, and we set off.

Ana's house was the first that we got to, so Jack parked at the kerb and got out to walk her to her front door. Charlie and I watched them, thinking that there might be something going on between them.

I don't think we expected to be proved right, but when we saw Jack tenderly kiss Ana good-bye, we knew something was going on. They stayed on the doorstep for a while, and while they were occupied, Charlie got out his cellphone and called Hurley, putting the cell on speakerphone so I could hear.

"Hey, Hurley, it's me. Claire's here too."

"Oh, hey Charlie, hey Claire. What's up?"

"Seriously, mate, you're not going to believe this."

"Dude, what is it?"

"You know Jack and James had that punch-up at Shannon's?"

"Yeah."

"And you know afterwards, Jack and Ana disappeared together?"

"They did?"

"Yeah, they did. Anyway, Claire and I just saw Jack and Ana kissing, and _really_ going for it."

"Really?"  
"Really."

"Whoa, dude. Did anyone know they liked each other?"

"I dunno, maybe we should ask around. And, y'know, people ought to know what's going on."

"Okay, dude. Look, my mom's calling me, I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"Sure."

When he hung up, he looked over at me and grinned. "You know, I think by the time we get to school on Monday _everyone_ is gonna know about this."  
"Do you really think so? 'Cos in that case, maybe we shouldn't have told anyone."

"Nah, people would have found out anyway. Think of it as doing a public service."

"I guess it's okay then."

Just then, Jack got back into the driver's seat. "So, what have you two been up to then?"

"Just talking."

Charlie interrupted. "I think the more important question, Jack, is what _you've _been up to?"  
I heard Jack groan. "You saw, didn't you?"

"Yep. Everything."

"Who have you told, Charlie?"

"Jack, how could you think I'd tell anyone? I'm shocked that you think so little of me."

"Charlie, I know what you're like. Of course you've told someone, now who was it?"

"Not telling."

"Oh, who cares… whoever it was, everyone will know sooner or later anyway."

We spent the rest of the drive home in silence, though Charlie and I were holding hands on the backseat. When we dropped Charlie off at his place he kissed me quickly before promising to call me later that night, and then he went inside and we headed home.

When we arrived, Christian and Margo were in the sitting room with four people I didn't know – and from the confused look on Jack's face, I don't think he knew them either. Margo came into the hall as we came in. "Jack, Claire, we have visitors."

"You didn't say anyone was coming over, Mom."

"I know, Jack, but it was a last-minute arrangement and they've only just arrived. Now come and meet them, hurry."

When we had hung up our coats, Margo shepherded us into the living room, where we saw that the four visitors were a man about Christian's age and a woman who seemed to be his wife, as well as a girl with long, straight blonde hair and a boy with messy dark hair.

Margo found places for us to sit, and Christian introduced us. "Jack, Claire, this is an old friend of mine from university, Tom Ryder, and this is his wife Anne, his daughter Juliet and his son Ethan. They've recently moved into the area, and came for a visit. Juliet and Ethan will be going to your school." Then Christian turned to his friend. "Tom, this is my son Jack, and my daughter Claire."

After the introductions there were a few mumbled "hello"s and "hey"s, before Christian and Tom went back to their conversation, and Anne and Margo went back to theirs. Jack and Juliet and Ethan and I sat in awkward silence for a while, then Margo suggested we go into the den – which we did quickly, leaving the adults to talk.

Jack

Once in the den, everyone relaxed a bit, and we got talking to the two visitors. I did the same as when Claire had arrived, showing them some old photos and things, though this time Claire helped me tell them about the school and everything.

Claire seemed to get on well with Ethan – who's a year younger than his sister – so I left them talking about books, while I was talking to Juliet.

At least, I say talking. She was doing most of the talking, and I spent most of the conversation staring at her. She was… she was so beautiful… lovely blue-green eyes, golden hair that fell to just below her shoulders, and just the faintest scattering of freckles over the tops of her cheeks. I was only half-listening to what she was saying, her voice was entrancing. Unfortunately, I think she noticed that I was staring.

"Jack? Jack, are you listening to me?"

"What? Oh, yes, yes I'm listening."

"What did I just say?"

"Uh…."

"You weren't, were you?"  
"I guess not. I'm so sorry, Juliet, I didn't mean to offend you.."

"Hang on a minute, who said anything about me being offended? I'm not offended, Jack, because I know why you weren't listening."

"You do? Because… you're beautiful."

"Thank you. Anything else you wanted to say?"

"Uh… do you have a boyfriend?"  
"I used to, but we broke up right before Dad moved us."

"Well, um, seeing as you're new here, I was wondering if you would like to meet up with me tomorrow, and I can show you around."

"I'd love to, but I can't tomorrow, I need to finish unpacking. But we could do it on Monday after school instead, if you like."

"Oh, yeah, that would be great. You're going into senior year, aren't you?"

"Yes. Maybe we'll be in the same class."

"Yeah, maybe we will."

Just then, Mom came in. "Juliet, Ethan, your parents are getting ready to go home, and they asked me to tell you to get ready."

Juliet stood up to go. "Thank you Mrs Shepard."

Before they left, Juliet gave me her cellphone number, and kissed me softly on the cheek, and as they drove away I was struck dumb by how amazing she was. I went up to my room, still thinking about her, when I saw a photo of Ana on my desk. Just seeing that photo made me snap out of the daze Juliet had (unintentionally) put me in, and I broke down in tears. Juliet is lovely, but I like Ana. I kissed Ana, and we have feelings for each other. Juliet never once said anything about wanting to go out with me, she just sat there accepting my compliments and smiling.

Ana cares about me, and I care about her. I can't have anything with Juliet, because that would mean breaking Ana's heart, and she was treated badly enough by James. I can't do that to Ana, I just can't.

I was interrupted by a knock on the door, which opened to reveal Claire standing there. "Jack, are you all right?"

"Yeah."  
"Jack, don't lie. I can see you've been crying. It's about that Juliet girl, right?"

"Sort of."

Claire smiled, and sat on my bed. "Okay, tell me. What's wrong?"

"Juliet is beautiful, and if I could I would ask her out, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't do that to Ana. I can't hurt her like that."

"Jack, you have feelings for Ana-Lucia, right?"

"Yeah."

"And does she feel the same way?"

"I think so."

"Did Juliet give you any sign wanting to go out with you?"

"I don't think so, but we've only just met, I couldn't tell."

"I'll take that as a "no" for now."

"What should I do, Claire?"

"I think… you're in love. I think you love Ana-Lucia."

"How can you tell? Even I'm not sure of that."

"I saw you kiss her, remember? It certainly looked like love to me."

"So what do I do?"

"Easy." Claire got up of the bed, and picked up the phone handset on my desk. "Call her. Call Ana-Lucia, and tell her how you feel."

"Really?"

"Really." She pressed the phone into my hands. "Call her."

I wiped a hand across my face, wiping away more than a few tears, took a deep breath, and dialled Ana's number. I looked up at Claire, who smiled, and quietly left the room – though I had a feeling she was listening outside.

"Hello?"

"Ana, it's Jack."

"Oh, hey…"

"Uh, Ana, I have to say something."

"Okay."

"Ana… would you like to go out with me sometime?"

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Well.. yeah, I guess I am."

"Oh, Jack, I'd love to. But…"

"What?"

"But… I can hear my mom calling me for dinner, so I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, Ana."  
"Bye, Jack."

_Author's Note: _

_So, how was that?_

_Just to explain: yes, I know Juliet and Ethan aren't brother and sister. I never said this was a canon story, did I?_

_Also, I know Juliet's last name is Burke, but that's her married last name so I invented a maiden name for her._

_You like? Review. _

_In fact, even if you didn't like, Review._


	17. Mother and Daughter

Ana-Lucia

After Jack dropped me off at home, I went inside and found Mom in the kitchen making dinner. "Hey Mom, when's dinner ready?"

"Oh, Ana, you're home… how was the party?"

I thought about telling her what had happened, but then realised that she probably didn't need to know. "Oh, uh, it was fun. Um, will dinner be ready soon?"

"Probably about half an hour, honey. Is that okay?"

"Oh, sure. I'll be in my room." I left Mom in the kitchen and headed upstairs. When I reached my room I locked the door and sat down on the window seat, leaning back against the piled-up cushions. From where I was sitting I could see the photos that I have on my bedroom wall, and I realised that almost every photograph had Jack in it, apart from a few really old ones of people I'd gone to middle school with, and the pictures from the last girly day with Kate and Shannon and Libby. My gaze fell on the list of cellphone numbers I keep pinned on my noticeboard – Jack's number was first on the list.

I picked up my diary from the desk, sat down on my bed, and leafed through it. This diary was one I'd started just a few months ago, and I had written something about Jack Shepard on almost every page. Even the pages at the beginning, from when I was still going out with James, even in those pages Jack's name was there almost as much as James'.

I let the diary fall onto the bed, as I tried to work out how I felt. Everything was adding up… and I realised that I'd liked… no, had feelings for… no, _loved_ Jack for quite a while. Actually, things had started to sour between me and James a couple of months ago, and when I checked the dates in my diary I saw that at about that time, the mentions of Jack got a lot more frequent.

I heard Mom call up, saying that dinner was ready, so I quickly went downstairs, still thinking. Mom had made paella, and we sat down to eat at the table in the kitchen.

"So, how was your day?"

"It was okay."

"At the party, was that Ford boy there? Is everything okay between you two?"

"Uh, Mom, James and I have broken up. He's with someone else now. And he was at the party, but we pretty much kept out of each other's way."

"You broke up? When, honey, why didn't you say anything?"

"You were busy with work, and I didn't want to bother you. But it's okay, really. I'm over him."

"Oh, Ana, you should have said something. You know I've always got time for you, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know. But really, don't worry about me. It's fine now, I'm over him, and…"

"And what?"

"… I might have found someone else."  
"Really? Who is it?"

"Mom, don't make me tell you…."

"Ana-Lucia Cortez, I am your mother and I want to know what's going on in your life. So, who is he?"

"Oh, okay… Jack."

"Jack Shepard?"

"Yeah, Jack Shepard."

"Wasn't he dating that girl Sarah? You know, she lives just around the corner."

"Mom, they broke up months ago. I'm not sure exactly, but I think Jack and I are an item now."

"Well, if you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thanks Mom. So, how's work at the moment?"  
"Nice change of subject… oh, did you still want that work experience place? I've got some paperwork for you."

Mom and I chatted some more about her work and my school, and all sorts of little things, while we ate our food and then washed up the dishes together. Afterwards we watched a film on TV, then she went to bed and I went up to my room.


	18. Invitation Accepted

Kate

After we left the party on Saturday, James was still fuming over what Jack had done, and when we arrived home I had to stop him from storming in and upsetting his gran. "James, stop for a moment."

"What is it, Freckles?"

"Calm down, James."

"Sorry, Freckles, but I'm a bit angry at what just happened. I can't just forget."

"Maybe you should try."

"Maybe I know from experience that 'just forgetting' doesn't help."

"Fine. If you're going to be like that, what can I do to calm you down? What do you need?"

"I dunno, something to punch would be an idea."

"You've got a punching bag in the basement. Anything else?"

"I dunno. You got any ideas Freckles?"

"I might." And I reached up, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him – not a deep kiss, just a soft press of my lips against his. As I pulled away, he moved closer, trying to continue, but I took one step back, moving my arms to his waist. "How's that? Still want to punch something, Cowboy?"

"Mmmm… don't think so…"

"Good. I mean, if that didn't work I had nothing.."

"You would've thought'a something, princess."

"Probably."

"So, I don't suppose there's any chance of another one of those, is there? 'cos I think I feel like punching something again."

"Cheeky! But I could, I mean, we don't want you to have to punch anything, do we?"

" 'course not."

I stepped closer to him again, but this time he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. It seemed like we stood there, on the sidewalk outside his grandparents' house bathed in the not-so-romantic orangey light on the nearest streetlamp for hours, but when we finally stopped we looked at each other. "Katie…"

"I think we should go inside."

"Yeah, good idea."

We went inside quickly, and found Mr and Mrs Ford in the sitting room watching TV. James quickly let them know that we were home, then told me to go upstairs while he disappeared into the kitchen. While he was (apparently) busy, I went up to his room and sat cross-legged on his bed to wait for him. While I was waiting, my cellphone started ringing in my bag.

"Hello?"  
"Kate, it's Des."

"Oh, hi, is something wrong?"

"Uh, no, it's just, Penny heard something that I thought you would want to know about."

"What's wrong Des?"

"Apparently there's something going on between Jack and Ana-Lucia."

"What do you mean 'something'?"

"I mean, a relationship."

"Okay. How do you know about this?"

"Well, Pen heard it from Libby, and she got it from Hurley, and he heard it from that guy Charlie and Jack's sister."  
"So it came from Charlie and Claire."

"Yea, that's right sistah."

"Okay, thanks for the heads up, Des."

"No problem, love. I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah, see you then."

James came in just as I hung up, carrying two mugs. "Hey, Freckles, I got you some tea."

"Thanks."

"You okay, Freckles?"

"Yeah.."

"Who were you talking to?"

"Oh, Des called."

"And?"

"I don't know if I should tell you…"

"I'm a big boy, Freckles, what did he say?"  
"Well, apparently he heard it from Penny, who heard it from Libby, who found out through Hurley, who got it from Charlie.."

"Yeah, Freckles, just get to the point."

"..apparently Jack's going out with Ana-Lucia."

"Is that it?"

"Er, yeah. Aren't you mad?"

"No."

"You're not?"

"Nah. Ana and I broke up, she can go out with anyone she likes."

"So you really don't mind?"

"About Ana, nah. Jackass, on the other hand…"

"James…"

"Freckles, don't worry. It's just… the same day that he tries to steal you from me, he gets together with someone else. A guy shouldn't behave like that with girls, it's not right."

"James, promise me you won't hurt Jack over this."

"Oh, fine, if it makes you feel better. I won't go looking for trouble with Jackass. Happy?"

"It'll do."

"Glad to hear it." He handed me a mug of tea. "Now, are you gonna stay here tonight or do ya want to go back to your Mom?"

"I'd rather stay here, I think. At least until I know Wayne's locked up somewhere where he can't hurt me or Mom."

"No problem, princess. You know the spare room is yours as long as you want it."

"I know."

"Katie… I've been thinking… seein' as you spend most nights here anyway, would you like to move in? I cleared it with my grandparents, they're fine with it. What do you say?"

"Oh my god… I… I'd love to, but I need to make sure that Mom's okay at home first. But when Wayne's locked up in prison, when he can't hurt her, I'd love to."

"Okay then, I'll take that as a yes." And he pulled me towards him, putting the mugs down on his desk, and kissed me.


	19. He Gets What He Deserves

**Author's Note: Finally, I got around to writing a chapter about Wayne getting what he deserves. But… in a break from tradition, this isn't from Kate's POV, or James'. It's from Diane's perspective. I hope you like it, despite the lack of Skatey-ness. **

**Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own this. Also, this chapter involves some sensitive subject matter (no actual violence or swearing, though). **

Diane

Have you ever loved two people with all your heart, even though you know you can't stay in that situation? Have you ever loved someone who hurts you every night, who leaves bruises all over your body and doesn't ever apologise? And when you love someone like that, despite the bruises and the pain, you don't want to leave them because you love them.

But when that person starts to hurt the only person on this planet that makes your life worth living, what do you do? I tried to pray, but it didn't help. I tried to tell someone, but I didn't have the courage. I've known Wayne since I was a teenager, and I thought he could change, but I was wrong. When I was married to Sam, I had lots of friends, and there was always someone around to talk to, but since I married Wayne I've lost contact with most of the people I used to know.

Right now the best conversation I have with someone who isn't Katie is the chat I have with the girl behind the till when I go to the convenience store. So when Wayne started taking his anger out on Katie, I had no-one to talk to. I had no-one to tell. I couldn't go to the police, because he would have found out. I couldn't do anything to help my little girl except help her cover up the bruises and assure her that everything would be all right.

Wayne started to hit Katie when she was twelve. I think it was because at that point she wasn't really a child any more, and she was already starting to talk back to him… I don't know why I'm trying to justify his behaviour. I don't know why he hits me, or Katie, but he does. The first time he did, I found her huddled in the corner of the bathroom, crying her eyes out with a black eye and bruises on her arms and face. The first time, I sat her down on her bed, and wiped her tears away, and hugged her, telling her I would protect her and that it would never happen again. When she had stopped crying, I gave her a mug of warm milk and put her to bed. Then I went to Wayne, who was slumped half-drunk in an armchair, taking occasional swigs from a bottle. I told him never to hurt Katie again. I told him that he could do what he wanted to me, as long as he left her alone.

And he laughed at me. He laughed at me, saying I was weak and useless and that I couldn't stop him from doing anything if he wanted to do it. He made me so angry, and in that moment I wanted to kill him. I went to the kitchen, and came back with a glass full of water and threw it over him, telling him to sober up. And then I made him promise that he would never hurt my daughter again.

I should have known better than to trust him. A drunkard like that never keeps his promises. For five years, my little girl, my only child was being beaten at night, and then doing her best to hide the bruises at school the next day. For five years, I watched my happy, smiling little girl get quieter, and more serious, and tougher, just to cope with her home life. I suppose it was lucky that Katie had a group of really good friends that she had been with since middle school. One boy, in particular, she had a very strong bond with. James Ford, his name is. I gather he's not had an ideal childhood either, but he's always been very protective of her, and that's good.

When Katie was fourteen, I thought she was old enough to stay overnight with her friends, which gave her an excuse not to come home on the nights when Wayne was particularly bad. Most of the nights when she stayed out she slept at James' house. He lives with his grandparents, a lovely old couple who took her to their hearts. I'm glad of that, because it means if anything ever happens to me Katie won't be alone.

Everything came to a head in the spring before Katie's eighteenth birthday. She came home to find me – Wayne had hit me, of course – and he surprised her. She ended up being thrown against a wall, which put her in hospital. She was lucky, if James hadn't shown up looking for her when he did, she could have died.

They took her to hospital, and she ended up having emergency surgery because of internal bleeding, and James stayed with her as much as he could. When she was discharged, James and I agreed it would be safer for her to recuperate at his house, so she stayed there for the week. While she was staying with him, I moved into a women's refuge for a few days, and while I was there I finally made the decision to go to the police. They had taken statements from Katie and I at the hospital after her operation, and the next day I went to the police station to find out what they were planning to do about Wayne.

They told me that if I pressed charges against Wayne they could have him arrested and charged with grievous bodily harm against Katie and I. I had to think about it for a while – after all, he is my husband – but I thought of Katie lying in a hospital bed covered in bandages and bruises, and I knew he had to be punished. I told them I wanted to press charges, and after all the paperwork and red-tape had been dealt with, they went to arrest him. A young policewoman had been left looking after me, and I persuaded her to let me go, so I could see his face as the cops turned up to arrest him. She was reluctant, but insisted on driving me over herself. I had told them that he would be at home – seeing as he only works part-time at the moment – so they knew exactly where to find him. When the policewoman and I arrived, the other officers were waiting. They got out of their car, and knocked on the front door. The officer "escorting"me insisted that I stay in the car, but I had a clear view of what was happening so I didn't complain.

I saw the door open, and Wayne appeared, looking like he had just woken up and had a terrible hangover. The officers told him why they were there, and I saw his expression change from confusion, to puzzlement, to anger. He tried to go back inside and shut the door, but the cops restrained him. One of them put him in handcuffs while the other started to read him his rights. As they dragged him over to their car, I opened the car door and stepped out. He looked over at me just as they reached the car, and I saw his face change to an expression of hatred, before one of the cops pushed him inside the car and drove him back to the station. Then I got back into the passenger seat, and the officer I was with asked me where I would like to go now. I thought about it for a moment, and told her I'd like to stay here, so she told me to phone the station if I needed anything, and drove off.

When she was gone, I went inside the house. Everywhere I could see traces of Wayne, though that would not be true for long. I first rang the Refuge, saying I would not be needing a room after all, and then I started work.

I spent the next few days removing every trace of Wayne Jensen from my house, cleaning and tidying and opening all the windows to let fresh air and sunlight back in. I also called my lawyer, to start divorce proceedings – to truly remove Wayne from my life. The only thing I didn't do was tell Katie what had happened. I knew I would have to tell her eventually, but part of me still found it hard to believe that I really had gotten rid of Wayne, after all these years. Anyway, Katie was safe and happy with the Fords, so I didn't need to worry about her just yet.


	20. Conflict and Resolution

**A/N: Okay, apology time: I've been neglecting this fic a bit recently, and starting new stories (not all of which are Lost-related), but I've finally got around to doing this chapter – which was a tough one to write, because I knew what I wanted to happen, but I couldn't think of the right way to do it. **

**Finally, though, I thought of something good, so enjoy and review as usual. There's some Skateyness at the end, which I thought you would like.**

**Oh yeah, and I definitely do not own Lost.**

Kate

The day after Shannon's birthday party, Mom came to the Fords' house. She said she had to talk to me alone, so I made James wait outside and we commandeered the sitting room. Mom looked a lot better than she had for months, she looked so much happier.

"So, mom, what is it? Is anything wrong?"

"No, honey, nothing at all. I know I probably should have told you this sooner, but Wayne's in jail. He was refused bail, because he's "a risk to the public", and he'll be charged with GBH. He's going to jail, honey. He can't hurt us any more."

"Really? He's locked up?"

"He is. And I've started divorce proceedings. We need to get him out of our lives completely."

"Mom, that's fantastic." I hugged her, and felt tears in my eyes. "So, Katie, you can come home now. It's safe for you to come home."

It was so hard to look at Mom's face, so happy and full of hope, while knowing that the night before I'd accepted James' offer to move in. I knew I had to tell her, though.

"Uh, Mom, I have to tell you something…"

"Katie?"

"Last night… after the party, James asked me to move in. Properly, not just sleeping over after school a few nights… and I said yes."

"What?"

"Mom, I said I'd move in here."

"You could have spoken to me first, Katie."

"I know… it was just the heat of the moment. I didn't plan anything."

"I'm starting to wonder why I let you stay here so much. It seems you feel more at home here than you do in your actual home."  
"You let me stay here because Wayne has been beating me up since I was twelve and you didn't feel you could protect me. You let me stay here to keep me safe, remember?"  
"But you can be safe at home now, you don't need to be here…"

"Mom, please… you know how close James and I are, and I think you know how he feels about me, I thought you might have realised that we would get closer if we lived together half the time."

"I thought you knew it would only ever be temporary! I want my little girl back, that's all."

"Sometimes we don't get what we want, mom! I know that, because I wanted a normal childhood, and I wanted to be able to go to school without having to cover up bruises every morning, and I wanted to be able to come home at night and feel safe in my own home, and I didn't get any of that. So you can't have your little girl back, because that little girl went away a long time ago, and so much has happened the last few years that I really don't think she can come back."

"Oh, Katie… you used to be able to tell me anything, you should have told me this."

"Yeah, I used to be able to. Before you left Dad and went back to that scum Wayne, and then you go and _marry_ him, and he starts drinking and hurting you."

"Wayne used to be a good man, Katie…"

"No, mom, I don't think he did. I've never seen him do a single good thing in my life. And he's got such a problem that when he gets bored of hitting you, he starts on me, because he enjoys hurting people he thinks are weaker than him."

"Katie, please… come home, I need you…"

"Mom, you tried to protect me from your husband, but you couldn't. As soon as I was old enough, you let me stay with friends at night, just to keep me from being hurt. And now, I've found somewhere I feel safe, and you want me to leave."

"It's not as if I'm trying to keep you from your friends. I know this is where you feel safe, but I need you to come home. I don't want to be alone in the house, please come back."

"You know James and I are more than friends, don't you?"

"Of course."

"I love him, mom. He looks after me, and no-one else has ever looked after me like he does. We're in love, and he wants me to live with him. And I want to live with him, so please let me do that. It's not like I'm going to forget about you."

"Can we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"You're going to be eighteen soon, Katie. All I'm asking is that you come back home with me until your eighteenth birthday. You can still see all your friends, and you can have people stay overnight, just come home and live with me until then."

"And what happens after my birthday?"

"When you turn eighteen, if you still want to move in with James you can, I won't stop you. But you can also choose to stay with me. What do you think?"

"Um… that sounds great. I will, I'll come back and stay with you, at least until my birthday."

"That's great, honey."

"But, um, can I move back tomorrow evening? Because I have school tomorrow, and I don't want to be rushing around packing things tonight."

"Oh, that's fine, don't worry about it Katie."

"Thanks mom."

I hugged her quickly, but she didn't have a lot of time to stay, as she was going to some social club she'd joined, so after we hugged I walked her out to her car and watched her drive away. Afterwards, I turned and went back to the house, where I could see James sitting on the front porch waiting for me. I sat down next to him, and he instinctively put an arm around my shoulders. "Hey, Freckles, how did it go with your mom?"  
"You mean you weren't listening? I thought you'd've been glued to the keyhole the whole time."  
"That was the initial plan, but Gran convinced me that there were better things to do and that you would tell me everything afterwards anyway. I ended up helping to weed the flowerbeds out back."

"Well, you should listen to your gran more, she's right: I am going to tell you everything."

"Is it good news?

"Yeah, it is."

"Your mom's letting you move in? Great, when are we going to get the rest of your stuff?"

"Hey, hey, calm down, cowboy… yes, mom's letting me move in, but not till I turn eighteen."

"Oh…"

"Is that it? You're supposed to be happy, that's a good thing."

"I am happy, Freckles, chill. So, you're gonna stay with your mom until then?"

"Yeah. I think it'll be nice. A chance to get to know each other better, without Wayne around all the time."

"Well, if you're happy with this arrangement, I am."

"See, I knew there was a reason why I was madly in love with you… you're so caring and selfless."

"Hey, I've got an idea…"

"Ye-es…"

"Well, it's a beautiful day, and we have no homework to do, so why don't we celebrate by driving out to the beach and getting ice-cream?"

"I like that idea."

"Okay then. You go, get your bag, and we'll go celebrate."

We both stood up at the same time, and just before I ran inside to grab my purse, he kissed me quickly, before heading inside to pick up his jacket and car keys.


	21. Just Another Manic Monday

**A/N: So, the next chapter's up… and from now on the tone of this story is going to get a bit lighter, seeing as the last few chapters have been pretty dark. **

**Read and review, as per usual.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own this. Wish I did though.**

Jack

On Monday morning, I drove to school with Claire as usual, but this time I stopped at Ana's house on the way to pick her up. We drove past Charlie walking to school, so we stopped to give him a lift as well. After I parked in the students' car park, Charlie and Claire headed for their classroom together, both smiling and holding hands. Ana and I stayed in the car for a moment longer.

"So… are we going to do this?"

"Well, thanks to Charlie everyone probably knows about us by now anyway."

"Yeah. I'm still nervous, though."

"Actually… me too."

"Really, Ana?"

"Yeah, really. I suppose it's just because so much has happened recently, and so much has changed, I'm just a bit worried about how people will react."

"Me too. But we need to face them eventually, and if we don't go now we'll be late."

Ana laughed, and leant over in her seat to kiss me quickly, before we each picked up our bags and got out of the car. As we walked to our classroom, I noticed a few people looking our way, surprised to see the most popular girl in senior year holding hands with me, the quiet geeky guy that most people ignored. I didn't know quite what I was expecting when we walked into our classroom together, but I wasn't expecting what actually happened.

James

First thing Monday morning, I was sitting in my usual seat in our classroom, with Katie sitting next to me, and I was watching Katie get out her textbook, notebook and pens. Pretty much everyone else was already sitting down, and the only people missing were Jacko, Ana-Lucia and the teacher.

When Jack did turn up, he held the door open for Ana, who had apparently been right behind him. When they were both inside, Jack went to sit in his usual place at the front, and Ana – rather than going to her normal seat – claimed the empty place next to him. When they were settled, I saw him talking quietly to her as they held hands. I caught Katie's attention – she was busy drawing little cartoon doodles over the cover of my notebook. "Katie?"

"What is it?"

"Look at what Jack's up to."

She put down her pencil and looked up, seeing Jack and Ana holding hands. "Oh."

"I guess he moved on pretty quick."

"Yeah. I mean… I know Des told me Saturday night, but actually seeing it is different… it's real, now."

"I think I know what you mean, Freckles."

I looked around the room, and I could see that a lot of people had turned around in their seats to look at the new couple, and soon the room was full of whispering voices. The only two people in the room who didn't look that surprised were Desmond and Boone – but I guessed Boone had found out from Shannon and Desmond had been the one to tell me and Freckles.

The whispers were silenced when Mrs Nadler walked in, accompanied by a tall girl with long blonde hair, wearing a white shirt and jeans. Mrs Nadler put down her bag, then introduced the girl to us.

"Good morning class, I hope you all had a good weekend."

There was a half-hearted chorus of "Good morning miss", but she didn't press the issue. "Now, we have a new student joining the class today. This is Juliet Ryder. Her family have just moved here from Miami, and she'll be finishing senior year here. I'd like you all to make her feel welcome. Juliet, dear, if there's anything you need, or anything I can help you with, please let me know."

"Of course, Mrs Nadler."

"Now, there's a few empty seats, so if you'd like to sit down we can get started."

While all this was going on, I noticed that Jack seemed to be entranced by the new girl. I mean, she was pretty enough, but there were plenty of blonde-haired, blue-eyed pretty girls at our school, and I couldn't see anything in Juliet Ryder to distinguish her. Of course, I'm a bit biased, seein' as my girlfriend is the most beautiful girl in senior year, but I still couldn't understand why Jack was staring at her like that. I mean, he's sitting next to Ana-Lucia Cortez, the second most beautiful girl in school…. I resolved then to have a word with him at break. I may have broken up with Ana recently, but I didn't want Jack to hurt her like that as well.

Juliet ended up sitting near the front, but on the opposite side of the room to Jack. As she sat down I could have sworn she smiled at Jack for a second.


	22. Some Good News

Shannon

The Monday after my party was one of the better school days I've had, but that's not because of the lessons. All the lessons were pretty boring, except for French, my favourite class. I spent most of the day thinking about Sayid, and wondering what he was doing at college, and remembering how it felt when he kissed me goodnight on Saturday.

First thing in the morning, I was sitting in class waiting for the teacher, with Libby next to me. Charlie and Claire were on the next table over, and Claire was laughing at a funny story he'd told her. I turned to Libby, but she had twisted around in her chair to talk to Hurley, who was sitting behind her. I sighed, and went back to daydreaming about Sayid until the teacher arrived.

When Dr. Arzt eventually did show up, the many conversations ended.

"Good morning, class. I trust everyone had a good weekend?"

The only reply was a muttered chorus of "Yes"s, and unusually for him, he didn't press the issue. When he had taken a register, he told us he had an important announcement to make.

"Now, class, as I'm sure you know, Valentine's Day is in two weeks, and I was recently informed that the school will be holding a Valentine's day Ball for the students in junior and senior year. It will be a black-tie event, so boys that means suits and girls, you will need formal dresses. Are there any questions?"

I raised my hand immediately. "Yes, Shannon?"

"Sir, can we bring people who aren't from this school?"

"Yes, you can. Now, Valentine's day is a Friday, so the ball will be held in the school hall, on Friday evening."

Dr. Arzt moved on, but I wasn't paying attention. Instead, Libby and I were talking in whispers about the Ball, and what dresses we wanted to wear. We spent the rest of the morning discussing the ball – and whenever a teacher yelled at us to shut up, we just scribbled notes instead. When the bell finally rang for lunch break, we grabbed our bags and headed to the playground.

Kate

After Mrs. Nadler introduced Juliet to us, she told us about the Valentine's day Ball the school was holding in two weeks. Everyone started talking about it, but she shushed us all and got on with the first lesson. It was an American History class, so while she was writing on the board James pushed a note across the table to me. I unfolded it, and smiled when I read it.

_So, you coming to the ball with me, princess? _

I scribbled a quick reply, making sure Mrs Nadler didn't see anything.

_Hmm…well, I was going to ask Jack, but he's probably going with Ana. If you ask nicely I'll think about it. _

_Kate xxx_

_Jacko even thinks about taking you to the ball, there'll be trouble. You will go with me, won't you? Don't make me beg, Freckles._

_I don't think I've ever seen you beg, Tex. It might be funny._

_Kate xxx_

"_Tex"? I'm from Tennessee, not Texas. _

_Touché. _

_Kate xxx_

_Yeah, yeah, very funny Freckles. If I tell you how good you look in a dress, will you go to the ball with me?_

_Have you ever seen me in a dress?_

_Kate xxx_

_Yep. Your twelfth birthday, you wore a dress. And the dance when we finished middle school, remember?_

_That dress on my birthday was horrible. _

_1. It had ruffles._

_2. It was pink._

_I don't wear dresses, I don't wear skirts. You know that._

_Kate xxx_

_But the dress you wore to the middle-school formal, that was nice. _

_You never said anything!_

_Kate xxx_

_You were dating Tom. Wouldn't've been right. Anyway, that dress on your birthday was a kid's dress. You'd look amazing in a proper ball gown._

_I would?_

_Kate xxx_

_Course you would. _

_I don't think so. You're just trying to flatter me into going to the ball with you._

_Kate xxx_

_Well, yes. But you would look good in a dress._

_If you say so._

_Kate xxx_

_Yes, I do. When you go dress-shopping, get something in green. _

_Cheeky! Why green?_

_Kate xxx_

_Green's your best colour. Matches your eyes._

_Thanks! What's the answer to question 5?_

_Kate xxx_

_In the textbook, page 157, second paragraph down._

_Thanks – you might get a kiss for that later!_

_Kate xxx_

I could see James was about to write a reply, but just then Mrs Nadler picked me to answer a question and I had to get up and write on the board. We got through the rest of the morning, then we headed out to the playground for lunch.

Claire

When I left the classroom with Shannon and Libby, all Shannon could talk about was dresses for the ball. She'd already mentally run through the entire catalogue of bridesmaids' dresses that her stepmom makes, and was going through all the designers she could think of. She'd already decided that I would look best in blue and Libby's best colour was purple. When we got out to the playground we met up with the seniors, as well as Charlie and Hurley. There was a sort of garden area, just some grass and a few trees really, but it was a nice day so we went to sit on the grass to eat lunch. Everyone else sat down, talking about the ball and taking out their lunches, but before I could sit down Charlie pulled me off to one side.

"What is it, Charlie?"

"Um… Claire… I really like you, and… um…"

"I like you too, Charlie."

"Uh… what I'm trying to say is, would you like to go to the ball with me? I mean, you don't have to, but I really really like you and I want us to be a proper couple, so I'd be really glad if you said yes…"

He would have carried on, so to make him be quiet I quickly kissed him. While we were kissing, I heard someone wolf-whistle nearby, but ignored them. I broke the kiss, and said "Yes, Charlie, I'd love to go to the ball with you."

His face lit up when I said yes. "Really?"

"Really."

"Great!"

We spent the rest of our lunchbreak sitting next to each other, holding hands and kissing, while everyone else messed around.


	23. Anticipation

**A/N: I'm sorry. I've been very bad, and I've neglected this fic for far too long, because I've been concentrating on my LostHeroes crossover…. Anyway, I've had this chapter sitting around, unfinished, for ages… but it is finally done. **

**Disclaimer: I don't really need this, do I ? I mean, this is the 23rd chapter, if anyone still thinks I own this stuff, they need more help than I can give. So, yeah, not mine, don't sue, please give me a review at the end.**

Kate

That week went quickly for us girls, and every lunchtime was spent talking about what dresses we wanted, and how much we were looking forward to it. It went considerably more slowly for the boys, though – I think they were getting tired of hearing about it by the time Friday afternoon arrived. We were all sitting together during lunch – me and James, Shannon, Charlie and Claire, Desmond, Boone, Hurley, Jack and Ana. One of Shannon's friends from her French class, Alex, was sitting with us, with another junior Karl and Sun, a Korean girl in my class.

Because it was Friday, everyone was talking about their weekend plans. Shannon was planning a trip to the mall to look for a dress. She had already persuaded Libby, Claire and Alex to go with her, and she was working on the rest of us.

"Kate, come on, you _need_ me there to get your dress."

"Um, no I don't."

"Yes, I think you do. What do you know about dresses? You'd probably get something in completely the wrong colour if I let you go alone. Without me, it'll be a disaster."

"Actually, I know what colour I want, and I'm going shopping with Mom. I really don't need your help, Shan."

"Huh. Fine, have it your way. Sun? Ana? Are you coming?" She looked over at them.

Sun hesitated for a moment. "Um, I think that would be okay. Yes, I'll go with you."

"Ana?"

"I dunno… I wasn't going to go shopping tomorrow."

"_WHAT?_" Shannon practically screamed. "Ana-Lucia, I am not letting you skip shopping tomorrow. The ball is a week today, you won't have time if you don't go tomorrow."

"I'll sort something out."

"Oh no you won't. You're coming to the mall with us tomorrow, if I have to drag you there myself."

"Um…."

"Ana. Don't you dare say no." Shannon looked over at Jack. "Jack, tell your girlfriend that she has to come shopping with us tomorrow."

Jack took Ana off to one side, speaking quietly to her, and then kissing her softly. Something he said made her blush, and when they returned to where we were sitting she had apparently changed her mind. "Okay, Shannon, I'll go with you tomorrow." I think she was embarrassed about saying it, though.

"Yes! Now… Kate. Everyone else is coming, you can't be the only one left out." She looked at me with a strange look on her face.

"Shan, I told you, I'm going with my Mom, I can't let her down, she's been looking forward to helping me with my dress all week."

"Oh… well, we'll all be there most of the day, and the guys probably will be as well, so if for any reason she can't help you, we'll be around."

"Uh, okay, Shan. Fine. Actually, I've had an idea. Why don't I meet up with you in the food court for lunch? Then you can give me advice anyway."

Shannon nodded slowly. "Okay. That sounds good."

We got through our afternoon lessons and headed home. When I arrived, Mom was in the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom, I'm home."

"Katie… how was school?"

"Okay, I guess… everyone's really excited about the ball next week."

"Has Shannon picked out her dress yet?"

"Almost. She's planned a big shopping trip tomorrow with some of the others."

"I thought she'd have a whole outfit sorted by now."

"She's been… distracted, recently."

"New boyfriend?"

"Yeah… how did you know?"

"I've got to know your friends over the years, Katie. I know what Shannon's like. A new boyfriend is about the only thing that would distract her from shopping."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. When's dinner ready?"

"I only just put it in the oven, so about an hour. Is that okay?"

"It's fine. I'll be in my room, I've got some homework to finish."

"Okay, honey."

I went to my room, planning to get some work done, but just as I was about to start my phone started ringing. I sighed, and clicked the "Accept" button.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Freckles."  
"Hey. How're you?"

"You know, same as usual. Feels weird without you here, though."

"It's not like I've left the country. I'll be moving in soon."

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, you just have to be patient."

"I think I can do that."

"Good!"

"So… are you going to the mall with Shannon tomorrow?"

"No, I'm doing my shopping with Mom. She's been really looking forward to helping me choose a dress."

"Hey, I don't care who you buy a dress with. Just remember to get something green. I'm sure whatever you get, you'll look fantastic."

"I'm glad you think so. I'm still not convinced I will."

"You will, Freckles. Don't worry."

"O-kay… was there a reason for you calling now?"

"What, I can't phone my girlfriend on a Friday evening?"

"Hey, that's the first time you've called me that."

"Called you what?"

" 'Your girlfriend'. You've never called me that before."

"Don't you like it?"

"I didn't say that. I like it, okay."

"Okay… and since you asked, there wasn't really a reason… I just miss having you here, is all."

"Well, in that case, you're forgiven. But right now, I've got homework to finish off, so I'll have to talk to you later, okay?"

"I guess. So… I'll see you at the mall tomorrow for lunch, yeah?"

"Yeah. I kind of promised Shannon I would, so I'll be there. Shopping with Mom probably won't take that long anyway, we might be finished by lunchtime."

"Okay then. See you tomorrow then, princess."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

**A/N: Guess what?**

**Next chapter is going to be fun… can you guess why?**

**Well, next chapter is going to be….. drumroll please…. DRESS SHOPPING. And maybe some tux shopping as well, for the boys.**


	24. Shopping

Claire

I woke up Saturday morning to the sound of the phone in my room ringing. I reached for the handset and picked it up, still half asleep.

"Hello?"

"Claire, it's me."

"Oh, Shannon… why are you calling so early?"

"Claire, you know what day it is, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's Saturday…"

"And…"

"Oh, shopping… I forgot."

"Well, now you know. Do you need a lift?"

"Um, yeah, okay… just give me some time to get ready."

"Sure. I'll pick you up at ten, okay?"

"Okay. See you soon."

When Shannon had hung up, I quickly dialled Charlie's number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Charlie, it's me."  
"Oh, hi… what can I do for you?"  
"I just wondered if you were going to the mall today, to get your suit…"

"Oh, yeah, I was going to. Do you want to go there together?"  
"Shannon's giving me a lift there, sorry."

"That's probably best… she'll be keeping you girls busy today, getting your dresses."

"Okay. I'll still see you for lunch though. We can catch up then."

"Sure."

"Charlie… can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Um, do you want to have dinner with me tonight? We'll go to a restaurant or somewhere."

"I'd love to. Do you know where you want to go?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead… but we can pick somewhere at lunchtime, yeah?"

"Sounds good."

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later."

"Bye, Claire."

"Bye Charlie."

As I put the phone back, I saw that it was already nine o'clock… so I quickly got up and started to get ready for a long day of shopping.

Shannon

Libby, Sun, Alex and a very reluctant Ana met up with me and Claire at the entrance to the mall, and we set off for the formalwear shops. Libby and Sun were chatting about what dresses they wanted to look at, and Alex and Claire were talking and looking at window displays as we headed for the first shop. The others went straight in, but Ana waited outside, looking embarrassed.

"Ana? Are you coming in?"

She groaned. "Do I have to?"

"It's hard to try dresses on if you don't."

She didn't move.

"Ana, do I have to drag you?"

She sighed dramatically. "No. I'm coming."

Eventually she walked into the shop, and we joined the others. Sun was looking at accessories, Claire was trying to decide what shade of blue looked best on her with Alex helping, and Libby was trying to decide between green and purple for her outfit.

No-one bought anything in the first shop… Claire found a gorgeous dress in baby-blue satin in the second shop, where Sun found the perfect pair of shoes and Libby picked up a clutch bag. In the third shop Libby found a dress in light purple that was absolutely beautiful on her, and Sun found one in white that suited her perfectly.

I found my own dress in shop number four – black, but quite short with thin shoulder-straps, and Alex found one in dark-blue silk that was perfect.

Finally, we only had Ana left to buy for. She was still complaining, so when we all had something we decided we had to work together. We were still in the fourth shop, and we split up and searched through all the dresses looking for one that would suit Ana. I stayed with Ana by the changing rooms, to make sure she didn't try to escape. Eventually, Claire came running over, holding a dress on it's hanger and chattering about how perfect it was for Ana. It was red, and made in a sort of flamenco style. I took it from Claire and pushed it into Ana's hands, so she disappeared into the changing cubicle to try it on

When she came out, Alex, Libby and Sun had returned. She pulled back the curtain, and we could all see that the dress was absolutely the right one for her. So she bought it, and then we realised how hungry we all were and headed for the food court. We found the guys already there, with a few shopping bags that suggested they had found suits to wear as well.

After we ate, the guys stayed in the food court with our bags, and we went back to the shops to finish getting our accessories.

Kate

I woke up on Saturday morning looking forward to a day of shopping with Mom and lunch with my friends. When I went down to breakfast, Mom told me something.

"Katie, I'm sorry, but I can't spend the whole day with you today."  
"What? Why not, is something wrong?"

"No, no… well, I don't think so. I can still take you shopping this morning, but I have to go to the doctor this afternoon."

"The doctor? Are you sick?"

"I don't know, it's just a check-up, it should be fine."  
"Well, okay. But if there is something wrong, you have to tell me straight away, right?"

"Of course I will, Katie. Now, finish your breakfast and let's find you a beautiful dress for this ball."

We went to a little boutique run by a friend of Mom's, instead of the mall. There were so many lovely dresses, but the one we ended up buying was one that Mom spotted. It was a beautiful moss-green with thin straps. I already had a pair of shoes that would go with it, so we only went to one other shop – a jeweller's. Mom told me to wait outside while she went in, and she came out with a small bag.

"What did you buy, Mom?  
"It's a surprise. You'll get it the night of the ball."

"Will it match my dress?"

"Of course it will. Now, come on, do you want me to drop you at the mall with your friends? It's on the way to the clinic anyway."

"Thanks Mom."

We drove to the mall, talking about silly things and singing along to the cheesy old songs on the radio. Mom dropped me off – I took the bag with my dress in it, after promising to look after it – and then she drove off to her doctor's appointment and I headed to the food court to meet the others.


	25. First Date

Kate

After Mom dropped me off, I met up with the others. Shannon immediately wanted to see my dress, and when I pulled it out of the shopping bag she squealed with delight.

"Kate, that dress is amazing, where did you find it?"

"Mom knows someone who runs a boutique store, we went there."

"Wow… what are you going to accessorize with?"

"I'm not sure yet, Mom's got me something, but she won't give it to me until the actual day."  
"Aw, that's nice… not that you'll really need accessories with that dress. You're going to look _gorgeous_ at the ball, Kate. James is going to love it."

"Oh, I'm sure he will…" I didn't get a chance to finish the sentence, as Shannon had seen a friend of hers from her ballet class, and ran over to hug the other girl. I shrugged, made sure the dress was safe in its bag, and went to sit next to James, who had thoughtfully saved a seat for me. I was surprised to see Jack and Ana sitting quite near. They didn't notice me, though, because they were too busy kissing to know what anyone else was doing.

James was flicking through a magazine, so as I went to sit down I softly touched his shoulder, and when he looked up to see me I kissed him.

"Hey, Freckles. Shopping go okay?"

"Great. I'm completely done. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Got my outfit sorted and everything. Can I see ya dress?"

"Hmmm, maybe just a little look." I opened the shopping bag a little, so he could see the dark-green silk inside, then closed the bag and put it away. "Okay?"

"I'm sure it's perfect. But then, you'd look good in anything."

"Yeah, yeah… well, I'm starving, so I'm going to get some lunch. And _don't_ look at my dress while I'm gone."

Claire

When everyone left the mall, Jack told me that he and Ana were going to her house, so Charlie drove me home. When I got in, Margo was in the kitchen. I put my bags down on the table, and she turned around. "Oh, Claire, dear, you're home. How was your day?"

"It was nice, thanks."

"Did you get a nice dress for your dance?"

"Yes, d'you want to see?" I reached into the bag with my dress, pulling it out and holding it up for her to see."

"It's lovely, dear, just lovely. You're going to look beautiful at the dance."

"Thanks. Um… Margo?"

"Yes dear?"  
"You don't have anything special planned for tonight, do you?"

"No, not particularly. Why?"

"Oh, it's just… I was going to go out with a friend tonight, for dinner. Is that okay?"

"Of course, dear. Who are you going with?"

"Just a friend…"

"Oh, come on.."

"His name's Charlie. He's in my class at school. Jack knows him."

"Well, if Jack knows him, I'm sure he's a nice boy."

"He is, I really like him. He's taking me to the ball next week."

"Oh, he must be nice. And to answer your original question, no, I don't have anything planned for tonight. Just don't stay out too late, and don't walk home by yourself after dark."

"Okay. Thanks, Margo. Oh, um, Jack's gone over to Ana-Lucia's house, I'm not sure when he'll be back. I thought you should know."

"Okay, dear."

I took my bags and my dress up to my room, carefully hanging the dress in my wardrobe, and started to get ready for my date with Charlie. I ended up curling my hair, and after a lot of changes of outfit I eventually chose dark blue jeans, a camisole and a long-sleeved kaftan, with just the minimum of makeup, a little bit of lipgloss and some mascara.

Charlie showed up at eight o'clock, in his typical jeans, Converse and a t-shirt with the logo of his favourite band. When I went out to his car, his eyes widened when he saw me. "Wow… you look amazing, Claire."

"Thanks, but it's nothing special."

"Yes it is. You're special."

"You're making me blush, stop it."

"Alright… get in the car then."

I got into the front passenger seat of Charlie's car, rolling my eyes at the pile of battered textbooks, books of guitar music, and at least one pizza box that littered the backseat, with a guitar case just visible underneath. "Don't you ever clear out the inside of this car?"

"Ummm…"

"Charlie, the backseat of your car is a health hazard. And if you think you're driving me to the ball with the car in this state, think again."

"Okay, okay, I'll clean out the car tomorrow."

"Good. Now, where are we going?"

"Well… I can't afford anything really expensive.."

"Charlie, where did you book?"

"A pizza restaurant. You don't mind, do you? It's just… you look so great, I wanted to take you somewhere posh.."

"Charlie.. I love pizza. And I don't care if you take me to a fancy restaurant or not, all I care about is having a lovely evening with you."

"Um… okay."

"Come on, let's go."

"Oh, yeah, of course…"

We drove to the pizza restaurant, and it turned out to be very nice, with cosy booths around the sides and small tables in the middle, soft music playing, and friendly waiters.

We ordered drinks and a cheese pizza to share, and spent the next hour talking about music, school, and anything else that we could think of. Just sitting there with Charlie, talking and laughing together, I felt happier than I had for a long time. I realised something – now that I had Charlie in my life, I felt truly at home in America.

When we finished eating, we went for a walk together and then Charlie drove me home. He even walked me as far as the front door. We stopped on the doorstep, and I hesitated before opening the door.

"Um, I had a really nice time tonight, Charlie. Thanks."

"I had a nice time too." Then, I took a breath and kissed him softly. "Thanks. I'll see you at school on Monday, okay?"

"Uh, yeah… sure. Goodnight, Claire."

" 'Night, Charlie."

Then I went inside, and after saying good night to Margo and Christian I went to bed.


End file.
